Although Alfred Wainwright listed it as one of the 214 featured hills in his influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells it was his least favourite.

Upon meeting the head of Blackhazel Beck, the shoulder divides in two, the northeastern arm connecting to Bannerdale Crags and the north western branch continuing to descend to Mungrisdale Common.

Confusingly, the forest contains no trees other than the windbreak of Skiddaw House, but it is a marshy upland area, at around 400 m (1,300 ft), surrounded on all sides by higher fells.

The three ranges of the Northern Fells are the Skiddaw massif to the southwest, the Blencathra group including Mungrisdale Common to the south east and the area colloquially known as 'Back o'Skiddaw'[1] to the north.

The Glenderaterra Beck lies to the west of Mungrisdale Common and its tributary, Roughten Gill, forms the southern boundary.

Water from the southern flanks reach the sea at Workington while rain falling on the northern side heads for the Solway Firth via Carlisle.

Mungrisdale Common carries a very small cairn at the approximate summit, constructed only after Wainwright first encouraged climbing of the fell by including it in his 1962 guidebook.

Apart from the sub 1,000 ft Castle Crag, Mungrisdale Common is the only Wainwright not to feature in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells.