Neighboring counties are Cheorwon to the northwest and north, Yanggu to the east, Chuncheon to the south, and the Gyeonggi-do province to the southwest.

The area is renowned for its rivers, lake trout, indigenous otters, and natural scenery.

[4] Before 1900, Hwacheon was extremely sparsely populated, with only a few small villages alongside major rivers, due to its rugged terrain and harsh winters.

[4] The region was the source of conflict during the Korean War due to its strategic value as both a power plant and potential weapon (by intentionally flooding downstream areas).

As Gangwon Province is South Korea's coldest region, Hwacheon is home to the yearly Hwacheon Sancheoneo ice fishing festival in which thousands of visitors try to catch as many sancheoneo (Korean: 산천어, wild trout) as possible.

[11] Total storage capacity, one hundred million tons 26.3, length 601 m, height 125 m is a large dam.

Combining the image of a bird and the shape of water, Hwacheon's Korean initial ㅎ is modeled.