It is in the province of South Holland, at the southern tip of the island of IJsselmonde, and at the confluence of the rivers Oude Maas, Beneden-Merwede, and Noord.

Zwijndrecht developed in the Middle Ages, presumably close to a shallow area of the Oude Maas allowing people to walk over from Dordrecht.

Important to the development of Zwijndrecht was the water around the city, across the Middle Ages most citizens lived from fish caught in the nearby rivers.

In 2003 the small village Heerjansdam was included into the municipality of Zwijndrecht upping their population to around 45 thousand.

Water bus routes 21 and 24 both stop at (Zwijndrecht Veerplein), connecting it with the following: The road buses are operated by Qbuzz.