[2] Rshtunik covered a mountainous region filled with river rapids, fertile lands, and rich mines.
It was also home to a royal residence of the king of Armenia called Ostan Rshtuneats, located directly across from Aghtamar Island.
[2] In medieval times, Rshtunik contained numerous churches and monasteries, which functioned as centers of learning and art.
[2] The region corresponded approximately to the latter-day district of Gevaş in the Van Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire.
Before the Armenian genocide, this district contained more than twenty Armenian-populated villages with a total population of about ten thousand.