The Whakatāne River runs northwards through the Ruatoki Valley and has formed broad alluvial flats.

[5] Ruatoki was one of the main sites involved in the 2007 New Zealand police raids, conducted under the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002.

[7][8] In October 2020, the Government committed $263,775 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade Ngāhina Marae, creating 12 jobs.

[11] It is now Te Wharekura o Ruatoki, a co-educational state area school that teaches Year 1 to 13 students in the Māori language.

[13] Children from west of the river attended Ruatoki Native School in the early decades.