"[1] The Keinawa Expressway generally follows the path of Japan National Route 24 from Kyoto to Wakayama.

From Kyoto the expressway travels south through Kansai Science City and Nara Prefecture, then crosses into Wakayama where it runs along the southern side of the Kisen Alps while travelling southwest towards Wakayama where it comes to an end at a junction with the Hanwa Expressway.

There are some gaps in the expressway that are linked by the previously named national highway.

The name Keinawa is a Sino-Japanese pronunciation of a three-character kanji acronym for Kyoto, Nara, and Wakayama (京奈和) that are the names of the three prefectures in the Kinki region that the Keinawa Expressway links.

[2] The most recent section to open as of May 2018 was between the southern terminus with the Hanwa Expressway and Iwade-Negoro in Wakayama.