Dwarven colonies have always been located in the Dragon's Teeth mountain chain but after the Great Cataclysm they have all been overrun by undead and destroyed - the dwarves have been all but wiped out.
There are only handfuls of survivors that can be found in human colonies, whether they have deliberately escaped or lived there long before.
Their culture values tradition and reliable mechanisms that have proven themselves over decades - frowning at the idea of inventing new things and experimenting, although some don't share that sentiment