[3] Historically in Glamorgan, the town is located on the River Neath, seven miles (eleven kilometres) east-northeast of Swansea.

The Romans also recognised the area's strategic importance and built an Auxiliary Fort on the river's Western bank around 74 AD.

[12] St Illtyd visited the Neath area and established a settlement in what is now known as Llantwit on the northern edge of the town.

Coal was mined extensively in the surrounding valleys and the construction of canals and railways made Neath a major transportation centre and the Evans and Bevan families were major players in the local coal mining community as well as owning the Vale of Neath Brewery.

Admiral Lord Nelson stayed at the Castle Hotel en route to Milford Haven when the fleet was at anchor there.

[citation needed] Lt. Lewis Roatley,[18] the son of the landlord of the Castle Hotel, served as a Royal Marines officer with Nelson aboard HMS Victory in the Battle of Trafalgar.

[23] Neath Rugby Football Club, the famous and successful "Welsh All Blacks", play at The Gnoll.

As with the rest of the British Isles, Neath experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters, often high winds, and low sunshine levels.

Dwr-y-Felin Comprehensive School is situated on the outskirts of the town, opposite a campus of NPTC Group (which was previously Neath Port Talbot College.

Great Western Railway and Transport for Wales serve the station with services westbound to Swansea, Carmarthen and the West Wales Line and eastbound to Port Talbot Parkway, Bridgend, Cardiff Central and London Paddington.

The proposals included an "iconic" golden rugby ball-shaped museum, a library, heritage centre and other new facilities.

[26] In March 2008, the county's new radio station, Afan FM, announced plans to install a new transmitter for the Neath area.

This would give residents of Neath access to the radio station, which already transmitted to the neighbouring area of Port Talbot.