 The municipality seat is located by the "Cerro Pintao" ("Painted Hill") which also covers the municipalities of San Juan del Cesar, El Molino and Urumita and in the Department of Cesar the municipalities of Manaure, La Paz, San Diego and Codazzi covering an area of 25,000 ha and with an altitude ranging from 1600 to 3,688 m (Páramo) giving birth to some 13 rivers.Villanueva limits to the north with the municipalities of El Molilno, with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the east; to the south with the municipalities of Urumita and San Juan del Cesar; and to the west with the Department of Cesar covering a total area of 265 km² and at altitude of 250 m over sea level.More than half of the total area of the municipality is part of the Serranía del Perijá while the rest is flat, within the valley.