The hill is at the south end of a north-south moorland ridge, which also includes Cats Tor, 519 metres (1,703 ft) high.

There is also another hill named Shining Tor, above Dovedale in Derbyshire, at grid reference SK145545.

As it is the highest point around (it is some 8 metres (26 ft) higher than the summit of Axe Edge Moor above Buxton), the views are pleasant, though the relatively flat uplands mean they are not extensive in all directions: the view to the southwest of the peak of Shutlingsloe above Wildboarclough is particularly notable, and in clear conditions Winter Hill near Bolton, the city of Manchester and much of the Cheshire Plain can be seen, including the radio telescopes at Jodrell Bank 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the west.

[4] The north–south ridge of Shining Tor including the summit itself is formed from the Chatsworth Grit, a thick sandstone of Namurian age which occurs widely across the Peak District.

The eastern dipslope and shallower parts of its western flanks are covered by peat up to several metres deep.