No municipalities are located in Porter Township, although the city of Portsmouth (the county seat of Scioto County) and the village of New Boston have incorporated much of the western part of the township.

The census-designated places of Sciotodale and Wheelersburg lie in the northern and central parts of the township.

Porter Township has the distinction of being one of the earliest settled, dating to February 1796.

[6] The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1.

Porter Township residents are served by the Portsmouth Public Library-Wheelersburg Branch, the Wheelersburg Local School District, and by a full-time as well as a volunteer fire department.