What is the basis for the position that the woman of Revelation 17 refers to Rome?

Revelation 17:9 (KJV) - "And here [is] the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth."

Since Rome has seven mountains, people "mistakenly" thinks that it is Rome.

But it must be noted that Jerusalem also has seven mountains. Mt. Goath, Mt. Gareb, Mt. Acra, Mt. Bezetha, Mt. Zion, Mt. Ophel, and Mt. Moriah are seven mountains of Jerusalem.

But Revelation contains prophecies about Jerusalem and it's destruction in 70 AD. Not Rome. Let me give you examples from the bible itself.

Revelation 17:5-6 (KJV) - "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication. And upon her forehead [was] a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour.

God commanded that the priests' vestments be made with purple and scarlet yarn (Exodus 28:4-8, 15, 33, 39:1-8, 24, 29).

Notice that the woman is drunken with the blood of saints and with blood of martyrs. This can refer to only one city - Jerusalem. Here are the verses said by Jesus Christ in Gospels.

Luke 13:33-35 (NIV) - "In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day--for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

We read that Jerusalem is the city that killed the prophets and stone those that sent you. We also read that "for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem." This means that it can only be Jerusalem.

Let's look at Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 23:29-39 (NIV) - "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started! You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

So we see that Jerusalem is the city that killed the prophets and the stone those sent to Jerusalem. So Revelation can refer to only one city - Jerusalem.

We see Jesus Christ prophesizing the destruction of Jerusalem in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. In Luke 19, we also see Jesus weeping over Jerusalem.

1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 (NIV) - "For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last."

Revelation 16:5-6 (NIV) - "Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were; for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”

Revelation 16:19 (KJV) - "And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath."

During Jewish Wars, it must be noted that Jerusalem was divided into 3 parts by 3 corrupt leaders - One part was under Eleazar, the son of Simon, Second part was under John of Gischala, and the third part was under Simon, the son of Giora.

Revelation 16:21 tells how huge hailstones fell from heaven weighing a talent which is about 100 pounds. Josephus describes 100 lb. white stones coming from Roman catapults down on the Jews in Jerusalem (Jewish Wars, Book 5.6.3).