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Penistone is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, which had a population of 22,909 at the 2011 Census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is 8 miles (13 km) west of Barnsley, 17 miles (27 km) north-east of Glossop, 14.2 miles (23 km) north-west of Sheffield, and 29 miles (47 km) east of Manchester in the foothills of the Pennines. The highest point, Hartcliffe Tower, is 1,194 ft (364 m) above sea level and has views over the Woodhead bypass and the Dark Peak. The surrounding countryside is predominantly rural with farming on rich well-watered soil on mainly gentle slopes rising to the bleak moorland to the west of the town. Dry stone walls, small hamlets and farms surrounded by fields and livestock are synonymous with the area. The area is known for its rugged breed of sheep, the Whitefaced Woodland. The Market town itself stands at its highest point around St Johns Church at around 250 m (820 ft) above Sea Level. However, the surrounding land rises well over 1,000 ft (300 m) towards Cubley and Thurlstone Moors and out towards smaller Hamlets at Carlecotes, Victoria, Dunford, and Crow Edge, elevated at points above 1,200 ft (370 m). All parts of rural Barnsley are very rugged and picturesque, some have even been used for the filming of Last of The Summer Wine episodes over the years. There are several vantage points that afford tremendous panoramic views of the surrounding areas of West Yorkshire and North Derbyshire.

The place-name 'Penistone' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Pengestone and Pangeston. Penistone is situated on a high ridge, which is believed to be the source of its name. Penistone derives from penn in Old Welsh, which means head, end, top, height or hill, and the Old English ing, a place-name forming suffix and tun, an enclosure, farmstead, village or estate. It most likely means a farm or village at or called Penning. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.