It is located in the village of Hvarnes, on the shore of the Numedalslågen river.

It is the church for the Hvarnes parish which is part of the Larvik prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Tunsberg.

By the late 1600s, the church was said to be showing signs of rot and decay.

It also got more beams and iron bolts to improve its structural integrity.

In 1849, a small sacristy on the south side of the chancel was built (and it was enlarged in 1896).