The following cities and towns are located in the Ardey Hills along the Ruhr − from east-northeast to west-southwest −: Fröndenberg, Unna, Holzwickede, Schwerte, Dortmund, Hagen, Herdecke, Wetter and Witten.
The count wanted to surround Dortmund by separate towns (including the towns of Herdecke, Witten, Bochum, Castrop, Lünen, Unna und Schwerte).
Rankings by major German Newspapers such as Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as well as the CHE University Ranking, the only comprehensive ranking for German Universities, acknowledge the excellent study conditions as well as very good career prospects for students from Witten/Herdecke University.