This place has two names, Setul and Mantin. Setul is the name of certain plant called 'Setul'. Setul was the town with a police station. It is not at the present town of Mantin but at the 8th mile Seremban. The name Setul is still in use, in grants and licenses of land, e.g. Mukim Setul, not Mukim of Mantin. The town of Setul was transferred to Mantin. The present name of Mantin is well known for its tin mine owned by a Chinese :wikt:towkay|towkay, Kong Sang. The Europeans called the place 'Mine Tin' while the Malays called it 'Mantin' for at this place tin was plentiful. The residents of the place could not say 'Mine Tin' correctly and said Mantin instead The earliest account of Mantin was related to Kapitan Seng Ming Lee, the first Chinese chief who was killed in 1860 in a war between Chinese secret societies near Sungei Ujong. His descendants fled to Mantin. Today the great-grand children of Kapitan Seng still live in Mantin. Situated in a valley surrounded by hills, Mantin has been a favorite sanctuary and hiding place for war and crime refugees. In addition to Kapitan Seng Ming Lee's descendants, large groups of Hakka were said to have migrated here, especially from Titi, during Japanese occupation of Malaya during 1943. Until 1903, the geographical location of Mantin in a valley has made it inaccessible to mainstream transportation. A railroad from Kuala Lumpur to Seremban was completed in 1903. The railroad passes through Batang Benar town, thus providing an access point at the western side of the town. At that time, British miners brought in large numbers of dredgers into Mantin, bringing about an economic boom. A Sikh temple and a Catholic church was built around the turn of the century. The only accommodation available at Mantin is . Various homestays also available near the town.
There are five Higher Education Institutes in Mantin, namely , , , and . These colleges were listed under Legenda Education Group. is located in a university township near Mantin town in the state of Negeri Sembilan, at the crossroads between Kuala Lumpur in the north and Johore Bharu in the south. This university township is located about 50 km from Kuala Lumpur, and can be reached within 30 minutes from the Sungei Besi toll in Kuala Lumpur. Other adjacent townships are Bandar Baru Nilai and Seremban. The Kuala Lumpur International Airport is located 30 minutes away from the campus.