They are only trying to find the environment that surrounded it.
To add in a wiki summary:
It is mentioned as the place the Ark of the Covenant may have been moved after being in Beth Shemesh (1 Samuel 6:21-7:2). About 60 years (2 Sam 6) afterward, the ark was moved to Jerusalem and placed in a tent outside the palace of David.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiriath-Jearim
As far as the location of the Ark, I've always had a soft spot for a dumb pun angle.
That is, that it would be located in Debir (aka Kirjath-sepher or Kirjath-sannah), because debir is
"the holy of holies, the innermost room of the temple or tabernacle"
So yeah, where *else* would it be? ;-)