It lies mostly to the southwest of the city center, extending into the city's southwestern suburbs beyond the Sixth Ring Road, but also to the south and, to a smaller extent, the southeast, where it has borders with Chaoyang and Dongcheng.

The Western Han dynasty Prince Liu Jian and his wife were buried in Dabaotai village in southwestern Fengtai over 2,000 years ago.

The tombs were discovered in 1974 and are now open to visitors at the Dabaotai Western Han Dynasty Mausoleum on Fengbo Road.

In Qing Dynasty times, Fengtai was where the Imperial Manchu Army had its camps, trained, and held parades on festive occasions.

[citation needed] It is 304.2 square kilometers (117.5 sq mi) in area, making it the third-largest precinct in the greater urban part of Beijing, and is home to 790,000 inhabitants.