Beginning in Bischofshofen in the Salzach valley, it runs initially between the Hochkönig and Dienten Mountains along the Dienten Saddle (1,342 m (AA)) and on into the valley of the Saalach to Saalfelden am Steinernen Meer.

On the far side of the Saalach the road runs into the Leoganger Tal between the Leoganger Steinberge and the Loferer Steinberge to the north and the Kitzbühel Alps to the south via Leogang up to the Grießen Pass (975 m above sea level (AA)), and via Fieberbrunn downhill again into the valley of the Kitzbühler Ache to St. Johann in Tirol.

Since 1948 three sections of the present-day Hochkönig Road in the state of Salzburg have been classified as Class II state highways ( Landesstraßen):[2] With effect from 1 July 1962 the last two roads were extended:[3] The middle section between Mühlbach and Hinterthal wurde was declared a Konkurrenzstraße (literally "competitive road") by the state act of 11 April 1962.

In this case the shares were: The Hochkönig Road has been part of the network of federal highways (Bundestrassen) in Austria since 1 Jan 1973.

[5] The following restrictions apply to the Hochkönig Road: no entry on the B 164 Hochkönigstraße from km 56.251 (Hochfilzen municipality) to km 75.76 (St. Johann in Tirol) in both directions for lorries over 7.5 tonnes (7.4 long tons; 8.3 short tons) maximum permitted weight, excluding recovery and breakdown vehicles, military vehicles and lorries that load or unload, start or finish their journeys in the following municipalities: St. Johann in Tirol and Fieberbrunn in Tyrol, Hochfilzen and Leogang in the state of Salzburg.