diff --git a/docs/topics/runners/dokka-maven.md b/docs/topics/runners/dokka-maven.md
index 14551c91d3..bc51d5fee1 100644
--- a/docs/topics/runners/dokka-maven.md
+++ b/docs/topics/runners/dokka-maven.md
@@ -407,7 +407,7 @@ function in `kotlinx.coroutines`.
     <configuration>
         <sourceLinks>
             <link>
-                <path>${project.basedir}/src</path>
+                <path>src</path>
                 <url>https://github.com/kotlin/dokka/tree/master/src</url>
                 <lineSuffix>#L</lineSuffix>
             </link>
@@ -422,6 +422,9 @@ function in `kotlinx.coroutines`.
             The path to the local source directory. The path must be relative to the root of the
             current module.
         </p>
+        <p>
+            Note: Only Unix based paths are allowed, Windows-style paths will throw an error.
+        </p>
     </def>
     <def title="url">
         <p>
diff --git a/runners/maven-plugin/src/main/kotlin/DokkaMojo.kt b/runners/maven-plugin/src/main/kotlin/DokkaMojo.kt
index ba95e7a70c..d14fea9c5b 100644
--- a/runners/maven-plugin/src/main/kotlin/DokkaMojo.kt
+++ b/runners/maven-plugin/src/main/kotlin/DokkaMojo.kt
@@ -389,7 +389,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractDokkaMojo(
             skipEmptyPackages = skipEmptyPackages,
             skipDeprecated = skipDeprecated,
             jdkVersion = jdkVersion,
-            sourceLinks = sourceLinks.map { SourceLinkDefinitionImpl(it.path, URL(it.url), it.lineSuffix) }.toSet(),
+            sourceLinks = sourceLinks.map { SourceLinkDefinitionImpl(File(it.path).canonicalPath, URL(it.url), it.lineSuffix) }.toSet(),
             perPackageOptions = perPackageOptions.map {
                 @Suppress("DEPRECATION") // for includeNonPublic, preserve backwards compatibility
                 PackageOptionsImpl(