It primarily comprises the White Aragvi Valley, and is bordered by Gudamakari on the east, Khando on the south, Tskhrazma on the west, and Khevi on the north.

In its original and narrower sense, Mtiuleti comprises a small historic mountainous community called Tskhavati.

Next heard of Mtiuleti and its people were in connection with the Georgian campaign by the Arab commander Bugha al-Kabir, whose army assaulted the mountains of Iberia/Kartli in the 850s, but failed to force the Mtiuletians into submission.

Under Tamar, due its strategic location, Mtiuleti was placed under the administration of high-ranking Georgian officials such as Abulasan, a viceroy of Kartli, and Tchiaber, a chancellor of Georgia.

The uprising quickly spread to the neighboring mountainous regions, but was eventually suppressed by the Russian commander Pavel Tsitsianov after heavy fighting.