The catchment area of the Shiyang River covers about 41,600 km2, most of which lies within today's Wuwei prefecture-level city of the Gansu Province.
The river originates from the Qilian Mountains, and flows north-east, toward the Gobi Desert.
The Wuqiaoling Range (乌鞘岭), in Tenzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, forms the dividing ridge between the endorheic Shiyang River catchment in the north and the exorheic Yellow River catchment in the south.
Agricultural oases are distributed in the Shiyang River catchment, with Wuwei being the main city of this region.
Currently efforts are being made to prevent the desertification and disappearance of the Minqin Oasis.