It lies between the cities of Bergen op Zoom and Roosendaal.

The name Heerle has been documented for the first time in the 13th century as Harella and is possibly a conjunction of the word har (meaning heightened sandy soil) and loo, a small forest.

The customary local Brabantic pronunciation differs significantly from the standard Dutch one, so that linguistic misconceptions regularly occur.

Regardless of having an independent church community, Heerle hadn't developed its own village governance and remained dependent on the aldermen of neighbouring Wouw.

Furthermore, Heerle didn't have a village centre until the beginning of the 19th century.