Although covering only 7 km2 (2.7 sq mi), the area is packed with history, including the ruins of Neath Abbey.

The more central and northerly parts of the ward are mostly rural, consisting of picturesque farmland and woodland encircling the western base of Mount Drummau.

Near the business park are located the ruins of the Cistercian monastery of Mynachlog Nedd, the Tennant Canal, and Neath Abbey Ironworks.

It is coterminous with the Dyffryn electoral ward, which is bounded to the north by Allt-Wen ward; to the east by Bryncoch North and Bryncoch South; to the south by Neath East; to the southwest by Coedffranc North and Coedffranc Central; and to the west by the wards of Llansamlet and Clydach (both in Swansea).

In the May 2017 Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council election the results[2] were: