It starts from Khlong Rop Krung (the old city moat) in the area of Mahakan Fort and Wat Saket's Golden Mount and continues to the east as far as ends at the intersection with Khlong Saen Saep in Ban Khrua neighbourhood, tote distance 1.3 km (0.8 mi).

[1] The canal was started by the royal intention of King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I) in 1783, one year after establishment of Rattanakosin kingdom (modern-day Bangkok), and was used as a waterway for boating and playing Khlon Sakkawa (กลอนสักวา; a kind of Thai poem).

[2] The end of the canal is connected with Khlong Saen Saep, where people often paddle and pass as the main waterway since the early Rattanakosin period.

It also has become the administrative district of two khwaeng (sub-districts) under Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), namely Si Yaek Maha Nak in Dusit and Khlong Maha Nak in Pom Prap Sattru Phai district.

[1] The section of Khlong Maha Nak in Bobae is the home of one of the oldest Muslim communities in Bangkok.