The Rocky River rises on the Cumberland Plateau in Van Buren County, Tennessee near the community of Chalaybeate. Entering a steep cove, it receives some suraface tributary water and more from large springs along its course. Shortly south of Tennessee State Route 30 it becomes the boundary between Van Buren and Warren County. The last few miles of its flow the water become slack as it is impounded by Great Falls Dam on the Caney Fork River. The mouth of the Rocky River into the Caney Fork is the site of a corner among Van Buren, Warren, and White counties. The upper portion of the course is through rock of the Pennsylvanian Period, primarily sandstones. The lower portion is in the limestone of the Highland Rim, predominantly of the Mississippian Period.