 Rivas is located in the cantón of Pérez Zeledón in San José Province.This town lies south of a mountain chain Cordillera de Talamanca result of tectonic uplift between Cocos Plate and Caribbean Plate.This town is on the way to the Chirripó National Park

Originally discovered in the 1980s through archaeological surveys of the region by Robert Drolet, the Rivas site is one of 15 Chiriquí Period (AD 750-1500) archaeological sites known within the river valley.