Part of the Debub Gondar Zone, Dera is bordered on the south and west by the Bahir Dar, Zenzelma subcity located in Semien Gojjam zone, on the west by Lake Tana, on the north by Fogera, on the northeast by Misraq Este, and on the east by Mirab Este.

By the mid 14th century the people of Dera were already Christians, and served as stopover for monks (such as Abba Zayohannes) on journeys to northern Gojjam to spread the faith.

[2] In political terms, Dera only began to grow more in importance from the 16th century, when the Christian kingdom centre of gravity moved from Shewa to the Lake Tana region.

One of the most decisive battle in Ethiopian history took place in the area near Wayna Dagna on 21 February 1543, when the Muslim forces of the Adal Sultanate and the Ottoman Empire were routed by the Amharas and their Portuguese allies.

[2] A survey of the land in this woreda shows that 46% is arable or cultivable, 6% pasture, 1% forest or shrubland, 25% covered with water and the remaining 25.9% is considered degraded or other.