The Central Uplands forest is situated on either side of the axis of the Murr valley, more of it lying to the left of the river.

The region is fringed by the settlements of Oberrot to the northeast, Fichtenberg to the east, Kaisersbach to the southeast, Althütte and Auenwald to the south, Backnang to the southwest, Oppenweiler to the west and Sulzbach an der Murr to the northwest.

In Murrhardt it is joined by the Trauzenbach and Hörschbach, and, further downstream to the west, the Harbach, Eschelbach and Haselbach.

It flows, like numerous smaller streams, for much of its way through wooded klingen and sometimes drops over rock ledges, as the Hörschbach does at its two high waterfalls.

Among the hills, high points and spurs of the Murrhardt Forest are the following − sorted by height in metres (m) above sea level (NHN):[1] Large areas of the Murrhardt Forest are designated as protected landscapes, smaller ones as nature reserves.