[2] Shibata is located in a mostly inland region of north-central Niigata Prefecture on the northern end of the Echigo Plain, with a small shoreline of the Sea of Japan.

Shibata has a Humid climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm, wet summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall.

The area developed as a castle town for Shibata Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period.

[2] Shibata has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 27 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Niigata 3rd district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.