Sandoway (Burmese Thandwe or iron-bound) a coast district in the Arakan Division of Lower-Burma lies between 17°15´ and 19° 32´ North and between 94° and 94° 52´ East, and has an extreme length of 179 miles, an extreme breadth of 48 miles and an area of 3,784 square miles.

It is bounded on the north by the Ma-i River Which separates it from the An Township of Kyaukpyu District; on the east by the Arakan Yoma which forms a barrier between it and Thayetmyo, Prome and Henzada Districts; on the south by the Kyagaung hills and the Kyaukchun stream which divide it from the Thabaung Township of the Bassein District; on the west by the Bay of Bengal and an arm of the sea known as the Kaleindaung River which lies between it and the island of Ramree and which receives the waters of the Ma-i.