Matsapha was established as an industrial park in 1965 and was officially gazetted as an urban area in 1969.
Matsapha is located in the Upper Middleveld of Eswatini in the Manzini region, which is in the centre of the country.
It is well located as it is on Eswatini's main east–west axis between South Africa and Mozambique, 16 km (10 mi) from the junction of the Lavumisa road that leads to Durban and KwaZulu Natal.
A memorial to Swazi soldiers who served in World War II was constructed near the mission there.
All Swazi soldiers not mentioned by name elsewhere are commemorated on the memorial's plaque, written in Siswati.