Cerralvo is located in the northeastern region of Nuevo León, in the Gulf Coastal Plain and in the northeastern agricultural and ranching economic zone that also includes the municipalities of Agualeguas, General Treviño, Melchor Ocampo, and Parás.

[1] In 1577, José Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva founded the village of Saltillo; in the same year, he also founded Santa Lucía, now called Monterrey, and discovered the mines of San Gregorio, located in what is now called Cerralvo.

On May 31, 1579, Luis Carvajal signed an agreement with King Philip II of Spain to pacify the region and to establish the state of Nuevo León; the contract authorized him to do this in an area that did not exceed 200 leagues on a side.

[1] The first Spanish settlement in Nuevo León took place in 1582 in Cerralvo, which thus included the first capital of the state.

[1] The municipality was settled in order to exploit mineral resources, including lead, and to sell Indians to the Spanish.