The name is derived from the ancient German for spear, due to the spearhead shape of the area at the time.

It became the centre of legal activity for the region and played a role in the peasants' uprising.

Görwihl is within the Hotzenwald region, and lies in the southernmost part of the Black Forest, at the edge of the River Alb, a tributary of the Rhine.

The landscape of the region is characterized by high plateaus of various sizes, the stepped terraces descending toward the south.

The community is bordered to the north by Ibach, on the east by Albbruck, in the south by the city of Laufenburg and on the west by Rickenbach and Herrischried.