It is located at the end of Hemnfjorden, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) southwest of the village of Holla.

[1] At one time, there was a shoe factory, a shipyard, a lumber mill, and fish processing plant in the area.

Kyrksæterøra was bombed during World War II, but there were no deaths and there was minimal damage.

The last part of the farm name is the old name Soðin or Soðvin, which is a is a compound of the river name Søo and the word vin which means "meadow" or "pasture".

The last element of the village name is the suffix -øra which is the articulated form of ør which means "sandbank (at the mouth of a river)".