Sullana is located at 04°53' south latitude and 80°41' west longitude, 38 km north of Piura, the capital of the region.

Migration to Sullana has been intensive, but "pueblos jóvenes" (shanty towns) are neither widespread nor conspicuous, as they are in Piura for example.

This region was chosen by the Spaniards to found their first city in this part of the Americas, San Miguel de Tangarara, on July 15, 1532.

Sullana was founded late in the 18th century, on July 8, 1783, by Bishop Baltazar Jaime Martínez de Compañon y Bufanda and given the name of "El Principe" (The Prince).

Sullana has good bus connections to the north, to Piura in the south, as well as inland to Ayabaca and to La Tina on the Ecuadorian border.