It lies approximately 200 km (120 mi) south-west of Surabaya, the provincial capital of East Java.

The regency lies between 92 and 2,563 metres (302 and 8,409 ft) above sea level and covers an area of about 1,418.77 km2 (547.79 sq mi).

Though faced with many obstacles, Raden Katong, Aji Selo, and Ki Ageng Mirah and his family continued to establish settlements in the region.

[5] This date is celebrated as the founding of Ponorogo and is corroborated by ancient objects, such as a pair of stone gilangs located in front of the fifth gate of the Katong Batara tomb complex.

The table also includes the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 281 rural desa and 26 urban kelurahan), and its postal codes.

(b) all 19 are urban kelurahan (Bangunsari, Banyudono, Beduri, Brotonegaran, Cokromenggalan, Jingglong, Kauman, Keniten, Kepatihan, Mangkujayan, Nologaten, Paju, Pakunden, Pinggirsari, Purbosuman, Surodikraman, Tamanarum, Tambakbayan and Tonatan).

Each year in the Islamic month of Muharram, Ponorogo holds a celebration known as Grebeg Suro, "the party of the people".

Grebeg Suro involves many traditional events such as the National Reog Festival, the Heritage Carnival, and the Larungan Proceedings of Prayer held at Lake Ngebel.

Telaga (lake) Ngebel covers approximately 150 hectares and is popular for jet skiing and other water sports.