It is bordered by the Hyūga Sea to the east and is surrounded by the Kyushu Mountains to the north, west and south.

In 1923, Noguchi Jun built a factory for Nippon Nitrogen Fertilizer (now Chisso), and Nobeoka developed into one of the prefecture's leading industrial cities.

[9] On July 16, 1945, 33 US B-24s bombed the bridges in around the city, severing the strategically important Nippō Main Line railway.

[10] With the dissolution of the zaibatsu after World War II, Nichitsu Konzern was dismantled, and the factory in Nobeoka was restarted as Asahi Kasei.

Nobeoka has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 27 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Miyazaki 2nd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

The city's economy depends strongly on the company Asahi Kasei, a producer of synthetic and industrial fibers.

It is also directly connected to Miyazaki Airport, and can be reached in approximately 70 minutes using the limited express trains Nichirin and Hyuga.