plateau and historic corridor in North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), western Germany. It extends east–west from Duisburg to Paderborn, parallel to the northern edge of the Sauerland, and is bounded by the Ruhr (south) and Lippe (north) rivers.

The region centres on and is named for an ancient migration road between the Rhine River and the mountains of the Teutoburger Wald. Several explanations are offered for the derivation of the name Hellweg—it may mean Road to Hell, or it is possibly a corruption of “Halweg” (“Salt Route”), being once part of the medieval salt road from the east. Both a federal highway and a railway line now follow the ancient route. The Hellweg overlaps the Ruhr industrial region in the west and passes eastward through the Soester Börde, a fertile agricultural region, centring on the city of Soest.