It has its source in Doi Luang, Phi Pan Nam Range, in Mae Chai District, Phayao Province.

It consists of rich natural resources and ecosystem diversity, including forests, mountains, rivers, stream tributaries, and watershed areas.

Flood waters inundate the river basin during the rainy season, spurring migratory fish to enter the Ing from the larger Mekong for the purpose of spawning there.

The native people of the Ing River watershed depend on catching migratory fish and other wild riverine animals for their survival.

Locals rely upon seasonal fish and their migration, and have learned to catch them with great skill, especially through the use of hundreds of small reservoirs and ponds.