Administratively, it is bordered by the districts of Banyubiru to the south, Jambu to the west, Bandungan to the north, and Bawen to the east.

During colonial times, Ambarawa was an important railway hub connecting through regions in Java as far as Yogyakarta and Magelang.

By the end of WWII, Allied Troops were hunting down the remaining Japanese holdouts in South East Asia.

British soldiers, led by Brigadier Richard Bethell, came to the city of Semarang to disarm Japanese troops and liberate POWs and their presence was initially welcomed by the Governor of Central Java Wongsonegoro.

However, the locals were angered by the fact that Dutch POWs were being armed and triggered actions by the People's Security Army (TKR).