The 6,508-hectare (16,080-acre) national park is situated between the Illawarra Range and the Georges River and is approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) south west of Sydney.

It has high conservation significance within the region, especially due to the low disturbance within the park and limited public access.

The landscape varies from gorges and waterfalls to upland swamps to sandstone woodland, rainforests, and eastern gully forests.

The residents of the park include koalas, wallabies, wallaroos, platypuses, potoroos, pygmy possums and many more animal species.

[3] The Dharawal once occupied the area from the southern shores of Botany Bay, south to the Shoalhaven River, and northwest to Camden.

[5][clarification needed] The rock art found at these sites consists of drawings, paintings, and stencils created with black charcoal, white clay, or red, yellow, or orange ochre.

[2] The Dharawal sites consist of the catchment of the O’Hares and Stokes Creeks, which are the headwaters of the Georges River on the Woronora Plateau.

There are many waterways within the park, totalling over 200 kilometres (120 mi) and including 26 swamps, draining towards the Nepean and Georges rivers.

[12] These upland swamps have experienced no significant changes in the last 17,000 years and thus, are of great scientific importance as well as being listed as an endangered ecological community.

The park is of regional significance, having preserved local and diverse ecosystems and habitats that in other surrounding areas have been either damaged or destroyed.

128 birds, 39 reptiles, 32 mammals, 23 frog, 5 fish, 2 crayfish, 1 shrimp, 1 freshwater mussel and 273 invertebrate species have been recorded in the park.

[2] The largest population of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in southern Sydney are found in Wedderburn, which is located in and around the park.

[2][21] The broad-headed snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides) and the red-crowned toadlet (Pseudophryne australis) inhabit exfoliated rock on the sandstone plateaus.

[14][22] There are non-native fauna species found within the protected area include feral cats and dogs, rabbits, foxes, black rat, deer and mosquito fish.

[2] The following species are of high priority as most of their habitats are in the Woronora Plateau:[17] broad-headed snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides), Littlejohn’s tree frog (Litoria littlejohni), spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus), east-coast free-tailed bat (Mormopterus norfolkensis), green tree frog (Litoria caerulea), grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) and the southern emu-wren (Stipiturus malachurus).

[17] The park is considered to be critical to the regional conservation of the beautiful firetail (Stagonopleura bella), tawny-crowned honeyeater (Gliciphila melanops), Rosenberg’s goanna (Varanus rosenbergi), and the eastern three-lined skink (Bassiana duperreyi).

[26] Coal mining exploration has occurred in the park, which has caused cracking in creek beds as well as some damage to slopes and rocks.

[27][clarification needed] Management trails have previously been created using coal wash waste, which can be easily transported into the streams during rain events.

Wildfires are a threat to flora and fauna within the park, and require fire protection and management, especially for areas such as core koala-breeding habitat.

[2] Maintenance of rare, threatened and endangered flora and fauna is a priority along with maintaining diversity and regenerating areas, which have been disturbed.

Fire management includes reducing fuel within the park, ensuring that fences are well maintained so as to prevent arson, as well as prescribed burning.