It is situated 140 km north of Cape Town on R44 road at the base of the Olifants River mountains.

The Dasklip Pass to the surrounding Groot Winterhoek mountains is located 14 km outside of the town.

The Soom Shale, a notable deposit of Late Ordovician period fossils, is located near the town.

The closest towns are Piketberg to the west, Saron to the south, and Eendekuil and Citrusdal to the north.

[5] The town was established in 1863 and named after William Porter, who served as Attorney General of the Cape Colony from 1839 to 1866,[6] and became a municipality in 1903.