Shivamogga District is in southern part of Karnataka. Shivamogga City located on the banks of Tunga River is the administrative headquarters of the district and is located about 274 km. from Bangalore. Shivamogga City is an important industrial and commercial center now in the state. The Kannada name Shivamogga is derived from Shivamukha, meaning "Face of Shiva". An alternative etymology is that the name is derived from the term Sihimoge, meaning sweet Pot.

Shivamogga district is considered as the heartland of Kannada language and culture. It has contributed two famous Kannada scholars of modern times, Kuvempu and U.R. Ananthamurthy, both of whom are Jnanpith awardees.[5] K.V. Subbanna is the Magsaysay award winner for drama and humanities. Girish Kasaravalli has won more national and Swarna Kamal awards for Kannada classic movies than any other living film director in India, thus enriching Kannnda film industry and Kannada culture in general. The overwhelming majority of the people speak Kannada as their native language.

Shivamogga district is a part of naturally rich Malnad region of Karnataka. It is also known as the "Gateway to Malnad" or Malenaada Hebbagilu in Kannada. It is bounded by Haveri District to the northeast, Davanagere District to the east, Chikmagalur District to the southeast, Udupi District to the southwest, and Uttara Kannada to the northwest. The Western Ghats or Sahyadri range and the numerous rivers that originate there provide Shivamogga with abundant natural beauty. The numerous lakes, ponds and water bodies make the land very suitable for agriculture. Shivamogga is called the rice bowl of Karnataka. Several rivers originate here including Tunga River, Bhadra River which are large tributaries of the Krishna River, Sharavathi River, bridged by the Linganmakki Dam, Kumudvati, Varada and others.