These quartz-porphyry hills rise prominently up to 120 metres out of the surround plain of the Leipzig Bay, east of the River Mulde.

South of Hohburg is the Kleine Berg ("Little Hill") with a height of 206 m above NN.

The Hohburg Hills were shaped by decades of intensive stone quarrying.

Climbers from the area, such as Felix Simon, made use of the terrain as a training ground for the Alps.

From 1965, the Schwarze Wand ("Black Wall") has been used for Alpine training (aid climbing).