After Spanish contact, it functioned as a bulwark against various Chichimeca tribes of the north, primarily the Pame and Guamare, and eventually was classified as an "Indian Republic" governed by Don Pedro Juárez.

[1] Neighboring locations include Guanajuato to the north; Contepec and Tlalpujahua to the east; Senguio, Irimbo, and Ciudad Hidalgo to the south; and Zinapécuaro to the west.

The economy of Maravatío is primarily agricultural in nature, focusing on the production of strawberries, corn, beans, potatoes, wheat, and tomatoes.

Also of interest are the former haciendas of Apeo that were the property of Don Mateo Echaíz de Santa Elena in 1857; the house where Don Miguel Hidalgo stayed, near Independence Gate; the railway station, at which trains first arrived in 1883; and the Morelos Theater, constructed in the Porfirio Díaz era, which was inaugurated with a performance by the soprano Ángela Peralta.

Maravatío is a good base for visiting monarch butterfly sanctuaries between October and March, and there are many hot springs near the city suitable for bathing.