It is situated in the historic Rupertiwinkel region, on the left bank of the river Salzach, which forms the border with the municipality of Ostermiething in the Austrian state of Salzburg.

After the Archbishops of Salzburg had achieved immediate status in the late 13th century, Tittmoning Castle was built as a border fortress against the incursions by the Dukes of Bavaria.

Temporarily given in pawn to Bavaria, the unlucky Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich Raitenau had to cede the castle to the Bavarian duke Maximilian I in 1611; it was repurchased by his successor Archbishop Mark Sittich von Hohenems and rebuilt as a hunting lodge according to plans designed by Santino Solari.

Upon the Congress of Vienna, the Rupertiwinkel region finally fell to the Kingdom of Bavaria and Tittimoning Castle, damaged by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars, passed under state-ownership.

In the early years of World War II, the castle was used as a prisoner-of-war camp for officers, Oflag VII-D. British and American citizens were also interned there (see Ilag VII Laufen and Tittmoning).