It is located within the Tatun Volcanic Group and is the highest mountain in the city, at the rim of Taipei Basin.

It is located in the center of Yangmingshan National Park; its main peak is 1,120 meters (3,670 ft) above sea level.

The mountain has faults running across the southeast and northwest contours, and has volcanic landforms such as hot springs and fumaroles.

As the lava was more viscous when the mountain was formed, it gradually became a tholoid, also known as a cumulo-dome volcano, it is 643 meters (2,110 ft) above sea level.

This district included modern day Xizhi, Shilin, Beitou, Nangang, Neihu, Songshan, and Xinyi.