Merthyr Cynog is a hamlet

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 and a community

Community (Wales)

A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....

 in the county of Powys

Powys

Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...

 in mid Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

.

The Welsh

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

 name signifies the 'shrine of Cynog'. The church, a place of pilgrimage

Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...

, is dedicated to Saint Cynog, a son of Brychan Brycheiniog. It is situated on the land between the valleys of the Ysgir Fawr

Afon Ysgir

The Afon Ysgir is a short river which rises on the southern slopes of Mynydd Epynt in Powys, Wales. The tributaries known as Ysgir Fawr and Ysgir Fechan flow past the hamlets of Pont Rhyd-y-berry and Merthyr Cynog to combine at Pont-faen and continue past the village of Battle to join the River Usk...

 and the Ysgir Fach

Afon Ysgir

The Afon Ysgir is a short river which rises on the southern slopes of Mynydd Epynt in Powys, Wales. The tributaries known as Ysgir Fawr and Ysgir Fechan flow past the hamlets of Pont Rhyd-y-berry and Merthyr Cynog to combine at Pont-faen and continue past the village of Battle to join the River Usk...

 which penetrate northwestwards into the uplands of Mynydd Epynt

Mynydd Epynt

Mynydd Epynt is an upland area of Mid Wales within the county of Powys, Wales. It is bounded to the south by the upper section of the valley of the River Usk, to the north by that of the Afon Irfon and to the east by the valley of the River Wye. Its western boundary is less distinct but lies...

 from the River Usk

River Usk

The River Usk rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain of mid-Wales, in the easternmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially it flows north into Usk Reservoir, then east by Sennybridge to Brecon before turning southeast to flow by Talybont-on-Usk, Crickhowell and...

 some miles to the south. The community includes the hamlet of Upper Chapel

Upper Chapel, Powys

Upper Chapel is a hamlet in the southern part of the county of Powys in mid Wales. It lies on the B4520, Brecon to Builth Wells road in the valley of the Afon Honddu. The south-flowing Honddu cuts deeply into the uplands of Mynydd Epynt north of Brecon...

 which lies a couple of miles to the northeast. To the north and west of Merthyr Cynog is the Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

's extensive Sennybridge Training Area or 'SENTA

Senta

Senta is a town and municipality on the bank of the Tisa river in the Vojvodina province, Serbia. Although geographically located in Bačka, it is part of the North Banat District...

'.