Tateyama is located at the far southern tip of the Bōsō Peninsula, facing the Pacific Ocean to the east and south, and the entrance to Tokyo Bay on the west.

Chiba Prefecture Tateyama has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall.

After the start of the Meiji period, Tateyama Town (in Awa District), Chiba Prefecture was proclaimed on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system.

The city was a base for the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service as well as a Naval Gunnery School until the end of World War II.

Tateyama is a popular destination for vacationing due to its proximity to Tokyo and its reputation as a "beach" or "surf town".

Japan's first same-sex reality dating show called The Boyfriend (Japanese: ボーイフレンド, Hepburn: Bōifurendo) was produced by Netflix in Tateyama.