The region of the Guadiato Valley is located in the northwest of the province. It has a surface area of 2,512 km2 and a population of 28,683 inhabitants, according to the census of 2020 (Source INE), which represents a very low population density of only 11.44 inhabitants per km2. It takes its name from the Guadiato River and the valley that forms its course.

It is a region made up of eleven municipalities: Bélmez, Los Blázquez, Espiel, Fuente Obejuna, La Granjuela, Obejo, Peñarroya-Pueblonuevo, Valsequillo, Villaharta, Villanueva del Rey and Villaviciosa de Córdoba.

The main urban centers of the Guadiato Valley originated as settlements that were part of the road network during the Roman domination and others as part of the defensive mechanism during the Cordovan Caliphate. Among these are the towns of Belmez, Espiel and Obejo, located in strategic positions on the communication routes from Córdoba to Mérida and Toledo.

The creation of rural parishes and hermitages to serve the population in scattered villages is the origin of terms such as Fuente Obejuna and Villaviciosa. Others, such as La Granjuela and Villaharta, emerged around the end of the Middle Ages and half of the sixteenth century from the agglomeration of population around farms and inns that served as lodging centers in the dense network of roads for travelers and merchants. Other nuclei of the region (Peñarroya-Pueblonuevo, Los Blázquez) were originally villages that, over time, managed to segregate themselves from the municipal town to which they were attached.

The settlement of Mellaira, today Belmez, dates back to the 2nd century B.C. The Phoenicians and later the Romans exploited the deposits of La Pava, La Loba or Los Sortes, extracting copper, lead and silver since the 2nd century B.C.

In addition to the eleven municipalities mentioned above, in the Guadiato Valley there are 19 pedanías/villages belonging to the following municipalities: Belmez: Doña Rama, El Hoyo, and El Entredicho;
Fuente Obejuna: Alcornocal, Argallón, Cañada Del Gamo, La Coronada, Cuenca, La Cardenchosa, Los Morenos, Navalcuervo, Ojuelos Altos, Ojuelos Bajos, Los Pánchez, Piconcillo, El Porvenir and La Posadilla.
Obejo: Cerro Muriano. El Vacar

In 2003, the Regional Government of Andalusia approved the map of Andalusia’s counties, which includes the Guadiato Valley and its eleven municipalities for the purposes of planning tourism and sports.