Xochitecatl is located in a dominant position upon the summit of a 4 km-wide extinct volcano that forms a range of hills that rises approximately 200 meters above the floor of the Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley; the so-called Atlachino-Nativitas-Xochitecatl block, which is located in the centre of the valley. Xochitecatl has clear views across the surrounding valleys to the neighbouring volcanoes of Popocatepetl, Iztaccihuatl and La Malinche. The rivers Atoyac and Zahuapan flow close to the site. The site is the focal point of an area distinguished by its high agricultural productivity, sometimes named the Mesoamerican Mesopotamia, because of its fertile lands between the rivers Atoyac and Zayapan.