diff --git a/gapic-generator/lib/gapic/formatting_utils.rb b/gapic-generator/lib/gapic/formatting_utils.rb
index 4afaf6eb7..b6627829b 100644
--- a/gapic-generator/lib/gapic/formatting_utils.rb
+++ b/gapic-generator/lib/gapic/formatting_utils.rb
@@ -116,7 +116,12 @@ def escape_line_braces line
       def format_line_xrefs api, line, disable_xrefs, transport
         while (m = @xref_detector.match line)
           entity = api.lookup m[:addr]
-          return line if entity.nil?
+          is_mixin_field_addr = Gapic::Model::Mixins.mixin_message_field_address?(
+            m[:addr],
+            gem_name: api.configuration.fetch(:gem, nil)&.fetch(:name, "")
+          )
+          return line if entity.nil? || is_mixin_field_addr
+
           text = m[:text]
           yard_link = disable_xrefs ? text : yard_link_for_entity(entity, text, transport)
           return line if yard_link.nil?
diff --git a/gapic-generator/lib/gapic/model/mixins.rb b/gapic-generator/lib/gapic/model/mixins.rb
index 1183b4833..e4062dd40 100644
--- a/gapic-generator/lib/gapic/model/mixins.rb
+++ b/gapic-generator/lib/gapic/model/mixins.rb
@@ -162,6 +162,25 @@ def self.mixin_service_address? service_address, gem_name: nil
         MIXIN_GEM_NAMES.include?(service_address) && gem_name != MIXIN_GEM_NAMES[service_address]
       end
 
+      ##
+      # Returns true if the given service address is a mixin.
+      # This just checks the service against a (hard-coded) set of known mixins.
+      # If `gem_name` is provided, objects from the package of the service
+      # that corresponds to that gem_name are not considered mixins.
+      #
+      # @param message_field_address [String,Array<String>] The address (either array
+      #     or dot-delimited) of the message or field to check.
+      # @param gem_name [String] The name of the gem.
+      # @return [boolean]
+      #
+      def self.mixin_message_field_address? message_field_address, gem_name: nil
+        message_field_address = message_field_address.join "." unless message_field_address.is_a? String
+        # NB: messages are checked against package, not service
+        service_address = MIXIN_GEM_NAMES.keys.find { |sn| message_field_address.start_with? MIXIN_PACKAGE_NAMES[sn] }
+
+        !service_address.nil? && gem_name != MIXIN_GEM_NAMES[service_address]
+      end
+
       private
 
       # @return [Enumerable<String>] Names of all services that are specified
@@ -179,6 +198,13 @@ def services_in_config
       }.freeze
       private_constant :MIXIN_GEM_NAMES
 
+      MIXIN_PACKAGE_NAMES = {
+        LOCATIONS_SERVICE => "google.cloud.location",
+        IAM_SERVICE => "google.iam.v1",
+        LRO_SERVICE => "google.longrunning.operations"
+      }.freeze
+      private_constant :MIXIN_PACKAGE_NAMES
+
       # Since mixins are scope-limited to a couple of services, it is easier to
       # have these in lookup tables than to construct a ServicePresenter
 
diff --git a/gapic-generator/test/gapic/mixins/mixins_test.rb b/gapic-generator/test/gapic/mixins/mixins_test.rb
index 04d3bda8d..e5dd6c6ad 100644
--- a/gapic-generator/test/gapic/mixins/mixins_test.rb
+++ b/gapic-generator/test/gapic/mixins/mixins_test.rb
@@ -45,6 +45,25 @@ def test_mixin_service_address_checker
     refute Gapic::Model::Mixins.mixin_service_address? "testing.mixins.ServiceWithLoc"
   end
 
+  def test_mixin_message_field_address_checker
+    # sic. no `s` at the end, this is a message named `Location`, not service named `Locations`
+    assert Gapic::Model::Mixins.mixin_message_field_address? "google.cloud.location.Location"
+    assert Gapic::Model::Mixins.mixin_message_field_address? "google.cloud.location.Location.metadata"
+
+    assert Gapic::Model::Mixins.mixin_message_field_address? "google.cloud.location.Location",
+                                                             gem_name: "google-cloud-something-else"
+
+    refute Gapic::Model::Mixins.mixin_message_field_address? "google.cloud.location.Location",
+                                                             gem_name: "google-cloud-location"
+    refute Gapic::Model::Mixins.mixin_message_field_address? "google.cloud.location.Location.metadata",
+                                                             gem_name: "google-cloud-location"
+
+    assert Gapic::Model::Mixins.mixin_message_field_address? ["google", "iam", "v1", "Policy"]
+    assert Gapic::Model::Mixins.mixin_message_field_address? ["google", "iam", "v1", "Policy", "bindings"]
+
+    refute Gapic::Model::Mixins.mixin_message_field_address? "testing.mixins.Request"
+  end
+
   # Test the `Garbage` library, which does NOT have mixins specified
   # in its service.yaml (or service.yaml at all)
   def test_garbage_mixins
diff --git a/gapic-generator/test/test_helper.rb b/gapic-generator/test/test_helper.rb
index 81ff14b05..6217ba59c 100644
--- a/gapic-generator/test/test_helper.rb
+++ b/gapic-generator/test/test_helper.rb
@@ -344,6 +344,10 @@ def fix_namespace name
   def fix_service_name name
     @service_mapping[name] || name
   end
+  
+  def configuration
+    {}
+  end
 end
 
 # A fake request builder
diff --git a/shared/gem_defaults.rb b/shared/gem_defaults.rb
index 96a3bbb75..71f8f39af 100644
--- a/shared/gem_defaults.rb
+++ b/shared/gem_defaults.rb
@@ -156,6 +156,10 @@ def gem_defaults
         "testing/mixins/mixins.proto",
         "testing/routing_headers/routing_headers.proto",
         "testing/nonstandard_lro_grpc/nonstandard_lro_grpc.proto",
+        # `locations.proto` is included here because it is often
+        # included in the real world libraries
+        # as part of `files_to_generate` due to protoc limitations
+        "google/cloud/location/locations.proto",
       ],
       grpc_service_config: [
         "../shared/protos/testing/grpc_service_config/grpc_service_config.json",
diff --git a/shared/input/testing_desc.bin b/shared/input/testing_desc.bin
index 7512734b9..6e78832e0 100644
Binary files a/shared/input/testing_desc.bin and b/shared/input/testing_desc.bin differ
diff --git a/shared/output/cloud/secretmanager_v1beta1/proto_docs/google/iam/v1/policy.rb b/shared/output/cloud/secretmanager_v1beta1/proto_docs/google/iam/v1/policy.rb
index 93a1fc570..79fdbd1e2 100644
--- a/shared/output/cloud/secretmanager_v1beta1/proto_docs/google/iam/v1/policy.rb
+++ b/shared/output/cloud/secretmanager_v1beta1/proto_docs/google/iam/v1/policy.rb
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ class AuditConfig
       #     Specifies the identities that do not cause logging for this type of
       #     permission.
       #     Follows the same format of
-      #     {::Google::Iam::V1::Binding#members Binding.members}.
+      #     [Binding.members][google.iam.v1.Binding.members].
       class AuditLogConfig
         include ::Google::Protobuf::MessageExts
         extend ::Google::Protobuf::MessageExts::ClassMethods
diff --git a/shared/output/gapic/templates/garbage/proto_docs/google/iam/v1/policy.rb b/shared/output/gapic/templates/garbage/proto_docs/google/iam/v1/policy.rb
index 3d5ab976b..63857e129 100644
--- a/shared/output/gapic/templates/garbage/proto_docs/google/iam/v1/policy.rb
+++ b/shared/output/gapic/templates/garbage/proto_docs/google/iam/v1/policy.rb
@@ -321,7 +321,7 @@ class AuditConfig
       #     Specifies the identities that do not cause logging for this type of
       #     permission.
       #     Follows the same format of
-      #     {::Google::Iam::V1::Binding#members Binding.members}.
+      #     [Binding.members][google.iam.v1.Binding.members].
       class AuditLogConfig
         include ::Google::Protobuf::MessageExts
         extend ::Google::Protobuf::MessageExts::ClassMethods
diff --git a/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/lib/google/cloud/location/locations_pb.rb b/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/lib/google/cloud/location/locations_pb.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9707d60e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/lib/google/cloud/location/locations_pb.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+# Generated by the protocol buffer compiler.  DO NOT EDIT!
+# source: google/cloud/location/locations.proto
+
+require 'google/protobuf'
+
+require 'google/api/annotations_pb'
+require 'google/protobuf/any_pb'
+require 'google/api/client_pb'
+
+
+descriptor_data = "\n%google/cloud/location/locations.proto\x12\x15google.cloud.location\x1a\x1cgoogle/api/annotations.proto\x1a\x19google/protobuf/any.proto\x1a\x17google/api/client.proto\"[\n\x14ListLocationsRequest\x12\x0c\n\x04name\x18\x01 \x01(\t\x12\x0e\n\x06\x66ilter\x18\x02 \x01(\t\x12\x11\n\tpage_size\x18\x03 \x01(\x05\x12\x12\n\npage_token\x18\x04 \x01(\t\"d\n\x15ListLocationsResponse\x12\x32\n\tlocations\x18\x01 \x03(\x0b\x32\x1f.google.cloud.location.Location\x12\x17\n\x0fnext_page_token\x18\x02 \x01(\t\"\"\n\x12GetLocationRequest\x12\x0c\n\x04name\x18\x01 \x01(\t\"\xd7\x01\n\x08Location\x12\x0c\n\x04name\x18\x01 \x01(\t\x12\x13\n\x0blocation_id\x18\x04 \x01(\t\x12\x14\n\x0c\x64isplay_name\x18\x05 \x01(\t\x12;\n\x06labels\x18\x02 \x03(\x0b\x32+.google.cloud.location.Location.LabelsEntry\x12&\n\x08metadata\x18\x03 \x01(\x0b\x32\x14.google.protobuf.Any\x1a-\n\x0bLabelsEntry\x12\x0b\n\x03key\x18\x01 \x01(\t\x12\r\n\x05value\x18\x02 \x01(\t:\x02\x38\x01\x32\xa4\x03\n\tLocations\x12\xab\x01\n\rListLocations\x12+.google.cloud.location.ListLocationsRequest\x1a,.google.cloud.location.ListLocationsResponse\"?\x82\xd3\xe4\x93\x02\x39\x12\x14/v1/{name=locations}Z!\x12\x1f/v1/{name=projects/*}/locations\x12\x9e\x01\n\x0bGetLocation\x12).google.cloud.location.GetLocationRequest\x1a\x1f.google.cloud.location.Location\"C\x82\xd3\xe4\x93\x02=\x12\x16/v1/{name=locations/*}Z#\x12!/v1/{name=projects/*/locations/*}\x1aH\xca\x41\x14\x63loud.googleapis.com\xd2\x41.https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platformBo\n\x19\x63om.google.cloud.locationB\x0eLocationsProtoP\x01Z=google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/cloud/location;location\xf8\x01\x01\x62\x06proto3"
+
+pool = Google::Protobuf::DescriptorPool.generated_pool
+
+begin
+  pool.add_serialized_file(descriptor_data)
+rescue TypeError
+  # Compatibility code: will be removed in the next major version.
+  require 'google/protobuf/descriptor_pb'
+  parsed = Google::Protobuf::FileDescriptorProto.decode(descriptor_data)
+  parsed.clear_dependency
+  serialized = parsed.class.encode(parsed)
+  file = pool.add_serialized_file(serialized)
+  warn "Warning: Protobuf detected an import path issue while loading generated file #{__FILE__}"
+  imports = [
+    ["google.protobuf.Any", "google/protobuf/any.proto"],
+  ]
+  imports.each do |type_name, expected_filename|
+    import_file = pool.lookup(type_name).file_descriptor
+    if import_file.name != expected_filename
+      warn "- #{file.name} imports #{expected_filename}, but that import was loaded as #{import_file.name}"
+    end
+  end
+  warn "Each proto file must use a consistent fully-qualified name."
+  warn "This will become an error in the next major version."
+end
+
+module Google
+  module Cloud
+    module Location
+      ListLocationsRequest = ::Google::Protobuf::DescriptorPool.generated_pool.lookup("google.cloud.location.ListLocationsRequest").msgclass
+      ListLocationsResponse = ::Google::Protobuf::DescriptorPool.generated_pool.lookup("google.cloud.location.ListLocationsResponse").msgclass
+      GetLocationRequest = ::Google::Protobuf::DescriptorPool.generated_pool.lookup("google.cloud.location.GetLocationRequest").msgclass
+      Location = ::Google::Protobuf::DescriptorPool.generated_pool.lookup("google.cloud.location.Location").msgclass
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/lib/google/cloud/location/locations_services_pb.rb b/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/lib/google/cloud/location/locations_services_pb.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..11d978858
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/lib/google/cloud/location/locations_services_pb.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+# Generated by the protocol buffer compiler.  DO NOT EDIT!
+# Source: google/cloud/location/locations.proto for package 'google.cloud.location'
+# Original file comments:
+# Copyright 2024 Google LLC
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+require 'grpc'
+require 'google/cloud/location/locations_pb'
+
+module Google
+  module Cloud
+    module Location
+      module Locations
+        # An abstract interface that provides location-related information for
+        # a service. Service-specific metadata is provided through the
+        # [Location.metadata][google.cloud.location.Location.metadata] field.
+        class Service
+
+          include ::GRPC::GenericService
+
+          self.marshal_class_method = :encode
+          self.unmarshal_class_method = :decode
+          self.service_name = 'google.cloud.location.Locations'
+
+          # Lists information about the supported locations for this service.
+          rpc :ListLocations, ::Google::Cloud::Location::ListLocationsRequest, ::Google::Cloud::Location::ListLocationsResponse
+          # Gets information about a location.
+          rpc :GetLocation, ::Google::Cloud::Location::GetLocationRequest, ::Google::Cloud::Location::Location
+        end
+
+        Stub = Service.rpc_stub_class
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/lib/testing/mixins/mixins_pb.rb b/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/lib/testing/mixins/mixins_pb.rb
index 4a34f5574..ad1791cf2 100644
--- a/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/lib/testing/mixins/mixins_pb.rb
+++ b/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/lib/testing/mixins/mixins_pb.rb
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 require 'google/protobuf/empty_pb'
 
 
-descriptor_data = "\n\x1btesting/mixins/mixins.proto\x12\x0etesting.mixins\x1a\x17google/api/client.proto\x1a\x1cgoogle/api/annotations.proto\x1a#google/longrunning/operations.proto\x1a\x1bgoogle/protobuf/empty.proto\"\t\n\x07Request\"\n\n\x08Response2\x97\x01\n\x0eServiceWithLoc\x12\x66\n\x06Method\x12\x17.testing.mixins.Request\x1a\x18.testing.mixins.Response\")\x82\xd3\xe4\x93\x02#\"\x1e/v1beta1/ServiceWithLoc/Method:\x01*\x1a\x1d\xca\x41\x1aservicewithloc.example.com2\xa4\x02\n\x1bServiceWithLocAndNonRestOps\x12\x66\n\x06Method\x12\x17.testing.mixins.Request\x1a\x18.testing.mixins.Response\")\x82\xd3\xe4\x93\x02#\"\x1e/v1beta1/ServiceWithLoc/Method:\x01*\x12x\n\tLROMethod\x12\x17.testing.mixins.Request\x1a\x1d.google.longrunning.Operation\"3\xca\x41\x30\n\x15google.protobuf.Empty\x12\x17testing.mixins.Response\x1a#\xca\x41 servicewithlocandops.example.comB\x12\xea\x02\x0fTesting::Mixinsb\x06proto3"
+descriptor_data = "\n\x1btesting/mixins/mixins.proto\x12\x0etesting.mixins\x1a\x17google/api/client.proto\x1a\x1cgoogle/api/annotations.proto\x1a#google/longrunning/operations.proto\x1a\x1bgoogle/protobuf/empty.proto\"\t\n\x07Request\"\n\n\x08Response\"\x19\n\x17ReferencedInServiceYaml2\x97\x01\n\x0eServiceWithLoc\x12\x66\n\x06Method\x12\x17.testing.mixins.Request\x1a\x18.testing.mixins.Response\")\x82\xd3\xe4\x93\x02#\"\x1e/v1beta1/ServiceWithLoc/Method:\x01*\x1a\x1d\xca\x41\x1aservicewithloc.example.com2\xa4\x02\n\x1bServiceWithLocAndNonRestOps\x12\x66\n\x06Method\x12\x17.testing.mixins.Request\x1a\x18.testing.mixins.Response\")\x82\xd3\xe4\x93\x02#\"\x1e/v1beta1/ServiceWithLoc/Method:\x01*\x12x\n\tLROMethod\x12\x17.testing.mixins.Request\x1a\x1d.google.longrunning.Operation\"3\xca\x41\x30\n\x15google.protobuf.Empty\x12\x17testing.mixins.Response\x1a#\xca\x41 servicewithlocandops.example.comB\x12\xea\x02\x0fTesting::Mixinsb\x06proto3"
 
 pool = Google::Protobuf::DescriptorPool.generated_pool
 
@@ -40,5 +40,6 @@ module Testing
   module Mixins
     Request = ::Google::Protobuf::DescriptorPool.generated_pool.lookup("testing.mixins.Request").msgclass
     Response = ::Google::Protobuf::DescriptorPool.generated_pool.lookup("testing.mixins.Response").msgclass
+    ReferencedInServiceYaml = ::Google::Protobuf::DescriptorPool.generated_pool.lookup("testing.mixins.ReferencedInServiceYaml").msgclass
   end
 end
diff --git a/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/proto_docs/testing/mixins/mixins.rb b/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/proto_docs/testing/mixins/mixins.rb
index 07008920c..b48e4b672 100644
--- a/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/proto_docs/testing/mixins/mixins.rb
+++ b/shared/output/gapic/templates/testing/proto_docs/testing/mixins/mixins.rb
@@ -36,5 +36,12 @@ class Response
       include ::Google::Protobuf::MessageExts
       extend ::Google::Protobuf::MessageExts::ClassMethods
     end
+
+    # This comment tests a mixin documentation reference:
+    # [google.cloud.location.Location.metadata][google.cloud.location.Location.metadata].
+    class ReferencedInServiceYaml
+      include ::Google::Protobuf::MessageExts
+      extend ::Google::Protobuf::MessageExts::ClassMethods
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/shared/protos/testing/mixins/mixins.proto b/shared/protos/testing/mixins/mixins.proto
index bdef1eb58..ee55ec027 100644
--- a/shared/protos/testing/mixins/mixins.proto
+++ b/shared/protos/testing/mixins/mixins.proto
@@ -43,3 +43,8 @@ message Request {
 
 message Response {
 }
+
+// This comment tests a mixin documentation reference:
+// [google.cloud.location.Location.metadata][google.cloud.location.Location.metadata].
+message ReferencedInServiceYaml {
+}
diff --git a/shared/protos/testing/mixins/testing_service.yaml b/shared/protos/testing/mixins/testing_service.yaml
index 609b6bd8a..32618db04 100644
--- a/shared/protos/testing/mixins/testing_service.yaml
+++ b/shared/protos/testing/mixins/testing_service.yaml
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ apis:
 - name: google.longrunning.Operations
 - name: google.cloud.location.Locations
 
+types:
+- name: testing.mixins.ReferencedInServiceYaml
+
 http:
   rules:
   - selector: google.longrunning.Operations.ListOperations