The Ngaiawang lived in an area of some ranging along the Murray River from Herman Landing (Nildottie) to Penn Reach (near Qualco). The western boundary was formed by the scarp of the Mount Lofty Ranges. To the south, the tribal territory ended at Ngautngaut (Devon Downs) rock shelter, the first area to be subject to archaeological excavation (by Norman Tindale and Herbert Hale of the South Australian Museum) and the first formal archaeological excavation undertaken in Australia.