Corral is located in front of Niebla Bay, 18 kilometers from Valdivia and 850 kilometers from Santiago. The commune covers 4.4% of the provincial surface and has a population of 5,463 inhabitants, equivalent to 7.1 inhabitants/km², with 67% urban and 33% rural, according to the 2002 Census.
The climate is rainy temperate West Coast, with high rainfall, distributed irregularly throughout the year, whose annual average exceeds 2,500 mm, concentrating 63% between the months of April and September.
The importance of the commune of Corral at the provincial, regional and national levels is due to its geographic location, its forestry aptitude, its fishing vocation and its tourism potential.
Corral Bay was discovered on September 22, 1544 by the Genoese navigator Juan Bautista Pastene.
In 1552, the city of Valdivia was founded, which would be burned in 1599 by the natives of the area.
In 1643, without the presence of Spaniards, the Dutch expedition initiated by Enrique Herckmans, former governor of Parahiba, arrived at Corral Bay. After embalming the corpse of his predecessor, he arrived on August 24, 1643 at the mouth of the Valdivia River. However, on October 28th of the same year, the Dutch abandoned the city because they could not negotiate their presence with the native people, who did not look favorably upon the foreign presence in their territories.
When the Spanish Crown learned of the presence of the Dutch and the certain possibility of losing its dominions in the South of America, it orders to the viceroy of Peru Don Pedro de Toledo y Leiva, first Marquis of Mancera, to sail with a force of 22 galleons and 2.He commanded his son Antonio de Toledo y Leiva, first Marquis of Mancera, who set sail from Callao-Peru on December 31, 1644, arriving at Corral Bay on February 6, 1645 and beginning the construction of the 17 fortresses.
Today it is possible to see some of them in the towns of Corral, AMARGOS, San Carlos, Isla de Mancera, Chorocamayo and Niebla.