Muroran is located in the southwestern Hokkaido, facing the eastern coast of the Oshima Peninsula .The city covers a surface area of 80.64 km2 and has population of 11,000. Since 1922, Muroran has been developing as an important transportation hub and a center of the steel industry. Today, there are large cement factories, steel mills, oil refineries, and shipyards clustered around the port of Muroran.

    Muroran and and Rizhao established the sister-city relationship in July , 2002.