It is borderered to the north by Llanes and Ribadedeva, to the west by Peñamellera Alta, and to the east and south by the Autonomous Community of Cantabria.

After complete incorporation into the realm of King Ferdinand II's territory, he relinquished Asturias from these areas for inclusion in the kingdom of Leon, although ecclesiastically this decision still depended on the bishopric of Oviedo.

In 1340, King Alfonso XI gave the people of Peñamellera jurisdiction, gaining representation without having to visit the sites of the Merindad of Asturias de Santillana.

Livestock and agriculture have always been present in the life of the valley, its people exempt from taxes from the sale of cattle due to a privilege that was granted by King Charles II.

The valley also suffered from the war of independence, being occupied by French troops in 1809, when Colonel Gauthier broke surveillance of River and invaded the council back in 1810.

This situation lasted until 1890, at which time the capital was transferred to Panes, a town that experienced a progressive increase in its population.

During the Spanish Civil War noted that the low cueto had the strength of the Republican Army under Manolin Alvarez, being conquered the area on September 9, 1937 by Navarre troops using the Condor Legion.

Currently, the majority of the population is concentrated around the Deva River in the north of the municipality, while the southern part is quite depopulated except for the parishes of San Esteban and Cuñaba.

The de facto population, according to the tables published by the National Statistics Institute of 10 in 10 years had the November 1, 2011 amounted to 1322 people, 653 men and 669 women.