 Two rivers, the Kiryū and the Watarase River, run through the heart of the city and it is likewise surrounded by picturesque mountains to the north.Umeda, a district on the north side of the city, is well known for its cedar trees, while red pines are also common in other areas.During the Edo period, most of the area of present-day Kiryū was part of the "tenryō" holding under the direct administration of the Tokugawa shogunate in Kōzuke Province, with the exception of the commercial center and temple town of Kiryū-shinmachi, noted for sericulture since the Nara period, which was part of Shōnai Domain of Dewa Province.