It is located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean and surrounded by Michatoya and Maria Linda Rivers, and also by the Canal de Chiquimulilla.

[1] Fishtail points, the most common style of tool manufacturing in Mesoamerica, were discovered in Iztapa (c. 7700–7300 BCE).

[citation needed] In 1897, president José María Reina Barrios attempted to build an interoceanic railroad to offer it to international investors during the Central America Expo of that year.

His ambitious plan included a terminal at Iztapa Port, which was being built to improve conditions at Puerto San José.

[2] However, the international price collapse of both coffee and silver brought all work to standstill and the railroad could not be completed; instead of the economic boom that the president had hoped for, the Expo signifiedthe end of his regime.