The Liao River has an exceedingly high sediment load because many parts of it flow through powdery loess.

The eastern tributary arises in western Jilin Province, and goes through an S-shaped course before meeting its counterpart near the junction region of Liaoning, Jilin and Inner Mongolia, approximately 42° 59' N, 123° 33' E. The resultant river, the Liao River proper, then enters Liaoning Province and courses southwards through the Northeast China Plain, receiving numerous tributaries along the way.

The western distributary of the delta, originally smaller, was called the Shuangtaizi River (双台子河) until 2011, receives the tributary Raoyang River at Panjin's Panshan County before draining into the Liaodong Bay of the Bohai Sea west of Dawa County.

However, the Liao River Delta has a flat topography made up of soft sediment soil, with meandrous waterways that had a rich history of rerouting.

This coupled with the risk of storm surges due to the region's low elevation, created a huge problem in flood control.