Ballia is situated in extreme north-eastern part of Uttar Pradesh.

It is believed that the name of the city Ballia is derived from the name of one of the famous saints of Indian history, Valmiki. Locals have a belief that Valmiki, the author of Ramayana resided in this city and, hence, there was a shrine built at that place.

It also has a second story, the city is named as Ballia due to quality of the soil of the land. Ballia has a sandy soil and this type of soil is known as ‘Ballua’. It is believed that this city was initially called as ‘Balian’ and then was transformed as ‘Ballia’