Riedstadt is shaped not only by its preserved rural structure, but also by being near several cities, namely Frankfurt am Main, Darmstadt, Wiesbaden, Mainz, and Mannheim.

Local recreation sites near the community include the Kühkopf-Knoblochsaue nature reserve, the Bergstraße, the Odenwald, and the Taunus.

In the Thirty Years' War, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden spent two nights at the mayor's house in 1631 while his troops were crossing the Rhine.

His building master Matthäus Staud built the Schwedensäule ("Swedes' column") at Erfelden which recalls the crossing.

It was first mentioned in the document Historia Episcopatus Wormatiensis in 1002 in which Emperor Heinrich II granted Bishop Burchard of Worms the rights in the Forest of Forehahi.

At the last election on 6 March 2016, the seats were apportioned thus: Riedstadt maintains partnership links with the following places: In August 1984, the remains of an ice age mammal were unearthed at a gravel pit near Crumstadt.

At first thought to be a mammoth, it later turned out on further analysis, specifically of the teeth, to be a young forest elephant.