Cong is located on the isthmus connecting Loughs Corrib and Mask, near the towns of Headford and Ballinrobe and the villages of Clonbur, the Neale and Cross.

"The Bard of the West", Micheál Mac Suibhne, who composed his poetry and songs in Connaught Irish, was born at Cong around the year 1760.

The town and castle area remain little changed since 1952, and Cong's connection with the movie make it a tourist attraction.

Church of Ireland records from the 18th and 19th centuries have survived, however, and are held at the South Mayo Family Research Centre in nearby Ballinrobe.

The Cong Canal, built over five years by the Commissioners of Public Works between 1848 and 1854 as a combined scheme to provide navigation, drainage and mill-power.