[1] The total area of the town is 14.27 km2 (5.51 sq mi) Ikaruga is home to Hōryū-ji and Hokki-ji, ancient Buddhist temples collectively inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The Tatsuta River flows on the west side of the town, and the Tomio River flows on the east side Nara Prefecture Ikaruga has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall.

It was also an early center of Buddhism in Japan during the Asuka period, with a number of ancient temples surviving to the present day, The villages of Tatsuta, Tomisato and Horyuji were established on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system.

Ikaruga has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 13 members.

In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Nara 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.