Shaoyang is a hilly area in the south of the Yangtze River. The basic characteristics of the terrain are: various types of terrain, including mountains, hills, plains and plains, mainly hills and hills, accounting for about two-thirds of the city's area, generally divided into seven mountains, two fields, one water, roads and manors.

Yuechengling, the westernmost part of Nanling Mountains, is surrounded by mountains on three sides, southeast, southwest and northwest, and runs across southern Xinjiang, with Xuefeng Mountain rising from the west to the north. The central and eastern parts are the Shaoheng Qiuling Basin, which inclines to the central and eastern parts and presents a basket shape open to the northeast.

Shaoyang City is the transition zone from the hilly area in the south of the Yangtze River to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, with Xuefeng Mountain in the west and the eastern edge of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and the western part of the Shaoheng Qiuling Basin in the east and middle. The north, west and south of the city are surrounded by mountains, and the hills in the middle and east are undulating, and the plains are embedded in them, showing a basin landform inclined from southwest to northeast. According to the different terrain, it can be roughly divided into four terrain areas.