Shi-nua is an old village on an island, which after many years grew too big and many of the villagers relocated to the coast of the mainland.
The name Shi-nua comes from the old Ghinoli culture, which died out hundreds of years ago, but the name stuck through multiple cultures. It originally meant Sea Village, as the residents didn't know it was a lake and not a part of the ocean. Or perhaps they thought their lake as big as an ocean. This is also why the lake is called Nua-tel, or Deep Sea in Ghinoli, Lake.
There are a lot of stories about what creeps in the lake, but that doesn't stop people from crossing it often to get to the island in the middle, which is just as vital to the city as the rest of the place.