Sitapur was established by the king Vikarmaditya after the name of Lord Ram's wife Sita. This place is concerned with ancient, medieval and modern history. This is a land of seer and sufis. Purans were written by Rishi Ved Vyas on this holy land. According to Hindu mythology the 'Panch Dham Yatra' journey of five main religious Hindu places will not be completed without visiting the Neemsar or Naimisharanya, a religious ancient place in Sitapur. Dargah of Hazrat Makhdoom sb. at Khairabad and Hazrat Gulzar Shah are the symbols of communal harmony.
The city is situated on the river bank of Sarayan, at Lucknow-Delhi National Highway No-24, 89 km. from state capital Lucknow, and on meter-gauge railway line from Lucknow to Bareilly via Lakhimpur and Pilibhit. Sitapur is also connected on broad-gauge train network connecting Gorakhpur and Delhi via Gonda, Burhwal bypassing Lucknow and Hardoi. The whole district is divided into six tehsils - Sitapur, Biswan, Mishrikh, Laharpur, Mahmoodabad and Sidhauli. There are 19 blocks, two parliamentary constituencies (Sitapur, Mishrikh (SC)) and nine assembly constituencies (Sewta, Biswan, Mahmoodabad, Sidhauli(SC), Laharpur, Sitapur, Hargaon(SC), Mishrikh and Maholi). The total population of the district is 36,19,661, and the area is 5,743 square kilometers.