Kedu Plain

7°36′30″S 110°13′00″E / 7.608333°S 110.216667°E / -7.608333; 110.216667

Kedu Plain, also known as Progo River Valley, is the fertile volcanic plain that lies between the volcanoes Mount Sumbing and Mount Sundoro to the west, and Mount Merbabu and Mount Merapi to the east. It roughly corresponds to the present-day Magelang and Temanggung Regency of Central Java, Indonesia.

Its northern border is limited by the hills of Kendal and Mount Ungaran. The plain also borders the Menoreh Hills in the southwest and Prambanan Plain in the southeast. The Progo River runs through the center of this plain, from its source on the slope of Mount Sundoro to the southern coast of Java facing the Indian Ocean. It has been a significant location in Central Javanese history for over a millennium, as it contains traces of the Sailendra dynasty as well as Borobudur and associated locations. During the colonial Dutch East Indies period, the Kedu Plain was located in the Kedu Residency, which at that time covered what are now the Magelang Regency, Magelang City, and Temanggung Regency administrative units.

When Britain briefly took control of the region in 1811, Magelang became the seat of government. After the Napoleonic wars had ended, the English returned Java back over to the Dutch in 1816^[1] and Magelang continued to play a central role in the Dutch East Indies.

There is a small hill near Magelang called Mount Tidar that is referred to as the Nail of Java.^[2] According to Javanese legend, the gods placed the nail to prevent the island of Java from sinking into the sea from tremors.