San Cristóbal is a city in the southern region of Dominican Republic. It is the municipal (municipio) capital of the San Cristóbal province. The municipality is located in a valley at the foothills of the mountains belonging to the Cordillera Central, between the Nigua and Nizao rivers. Within this municipality there is one municipal district (distrito municipal): Hato Damas.

San Cristóbal was founded in the late 16th century. The Constitution of the Dominican Republic was signed in San Cristóbal in 1844. The city is also notable for being the birthplace of Rafael Trujillo, dictator from 1930 to 1961, who was killed by anti-dictatorial Dominicans on his way to San Cristóbal in 1961 as part of a successful plot to end his 30-year authoritarian regime.

The first explorations in San Cristóbal date back to the beginning of the conquest and colonization of Hispaniola with the second Voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1493. There were various haciendas, herds and ranches that existed in the Partido de los Ingenios de Nigua (today San Cristóbal) during the Spanish colonial era.

The formation of the town is credited to Miguel Díaz. Fleeing from the punishment that awaited him from the authorities of La Isabela (the first city created by Columbus in America), due to a violent fight he had with another colonist, he moved to this place where he married an indigenous woman by the name of Catalina. According to legend, fearing being abandoned by her spouse, she revealed to him the existence of a place where they found gold deposits; Díaz then returned to La Isabela to inform the colonial authorities of his find.

Upon confirming the existence of gold on the banks of the Haina River, the Spanish proceeded to arrange for the settlement of a group of settlers and the installation of a fort called Buenaventura and later San Cristóbal, in honor of the admiral. Between the banks of the Haina and Nigua rivers, herds, haciendas and ranches were formed, as well as sugar mills that contributed to a notable development of the place. The Partido de los Ingenios de Nigua was the name given to the route between the indicated rivers, it was not until 1782 when it was elevated to the category of parish, constituting the San Gregorio de Nigua Church as the seat of the parish, which is undoubtedly one of the oldest construction of San Cristóbal still standing.

Rafael Trujillo, dictator from 1930 to 1961, was born in San Cristóbal in 1891 and had several properties in San Cristóbal among which were:

All of these buildings are still standing, though in poor conditions. He built many monuments in his hometown, such as Balneario La Toma, and Parque Piedras Vivas – a park he ordered to be built from rocks and stones collected from each city of the Dominican Republic to honor himself (hence the park's name "Living Stones").^{[citation needed]}

San Cristóbal is located about 30 kilometres (19 mi) on the DR-2 from Santo Domingo and close to Bajos de Haina. It is located near the coast of the Caribbean Sea. The topography is hilly as you go farther inland into the Cordillera Central mountain range.