As westernmost part of the Gurktal Alps, the Nock Mountains are separated from the Low Tauern in the north, stretching as far as the Katschberg Pass ( m (AA)) in the west, by the Mur River. In the west, the rivers Lieser and Drau separate the Nock Mountains from the Ankogel Group of the High Tauern and from the Gailtal Alps. South of Lake Ossiach they are adjoined by the lower Sattnitz range and the Klagenfurt Basin, another part of the Gurktal Alps. To the east, within the Gurktal Alps they are bounded by a line from Gurk via Flattnitz Pass ( m (AA)) to the Paalbach stream.