The terrain is long from north to south, and the part facing the Kii Channel is almost flat, but the east side of the city is mountainous.

Wakayama Prefecture Gobō has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall.

Gobō has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 14 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Wakayama 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

In ancient times, Gobō developed as a distribution center for timber transported by the Hidaka River and as a fishing port.

Commercial fishing, especially for horse mackerel, abalone and spiny lobster remains important, as does agriculture, especially the production of cut flowers.

This includes the production of mahjong tiles by Taiyo Kagaku, which has a near monopoly on the Japanese domestic market.