Located near the Lebanese Border between the cities of Ma'alot-Tarshiha and Safed, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council.

[1] The village was founded in 1979 by a group of families from an organisation called HaSukah, and was the first settlement of the "Lookouts in the Galilee" plan.

It is located on the land of the Palestinian villages of Dayr al-Qassi and Al-Mansura, both depopulated in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

Tourism is also an important source of income, and Mattat's scenic setting is featured by several small hotels.

During the 2023 war between Hamas and Israel, northern Israeli border communities, including Mattat, faced targeted attacks by Hezbollah and Palestinian factions based in Lebanon, and were evacuated.