It lies between Graaff-Reinet and Somerset East at the foot of the Coetzeesberge, about 160 kilometres (100 mi) north of Port Elizabeth.

[1] In 1850 John Pears, the minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in the town of Somerset (now Somerset East) began holding services in the open under a large pear tree on the farm Rustenburg, then the property of Mr Casparus Jacobus Lötter, on the bank of the Voël River.

It is located in the fourth ward of the municipality, which is represented by Councillor Mncedi Mali of the African National Congress.

[4] Pearston is located about 160 kilometres (100 mi) north of Port Elizabeth, on the banks of the Voël River.

Pearston is the meeting point of two regional roads: the R63 from Graaff-Reinet to Somerset East and Cookhouse, and the R337 from Jansenville to Cradock.