It lies at 705 metres (2,313 ft) above the Adriatic (the primary sea level determinate of Austria), between two valleys formed by the river Waldaist and the smaller stream Prandegg.

The Name Prandegg refers to the terrain on which the castle was constructed: this included an area of forest that was clear-cut using fire (in standard German Brand, which means "fire", rendered in the local dialect as prant) and a large, exposed rocky outcropping (from the standard German Ecke, for corner, rendered in the local dialect as egg).

A previous structure, the late Romanesque old castle (Altburg), which was built at the end of the 12th century, was at the highest point of the northern ridge, and though it no longer exists, it once covered 340 square metres (3,700 sq ft).

Nearby to the south, a castle chapel once stood, as well as a barrel-vaulted passage connecting it to the interior courtyard.

A castle gate, a small gatehouse, and a palas were erected nearby as well, opposite a series of farm buildings.

The bergfried of the Prandegg Castle is a 26-metre (85 ft) high, round tower built on a natural outcropping of rocks and with an elevated entrance.

Prandegg lies in the northern part of this community, between the rivers Aist and Naarn, which in 853 CE was given by the Margrave William II to the Monastery of St. Emmeram in Regensburg.

Ultimately by 1352, the Reichensteiner portion was also held by the Capellen family, and remained undivided until the house's extinction in 1406.

Later owners of the fief were the Polheimer family and Jörg Walch von Arbing, with the second half of the property being returned in 1492 to the Kaiser, who then gave it to Hilleprant Jörger in 1534.

Hans Reichard von Starhemberk sold the entire property in 1642 to the Salzburg family, and afterwards the Prandegg Castle fell into disrepair.