The ³¹P MAS NMR spectrum of Hittorf's phosphorus has been measured and assigned to the 21 crystallographically distinct phosphorus atoms based on two-dimensional dipolar correlation spectroscopies. Application of such 2D techniques to phosphorus-based networks is particularly challenging owing to the wide chemical shift dispersions, rapid irreversible decay of transverse magnetization, and extremely slow spin-lattice relaxation in these systems. Nevertheless, a complete assignment was possible by using the combination of correlated spectroscopy (COSY) and radiofrequency-driven dipolar recoupling (RFDR). The assignment is supported further by DFT-based ab initio chemical shift calculations using a cluster-model approach, which gives good agreement between experimental and calculated chemical shift values. The ³¹P chemical shifts appear to be strongly correlated with the average P-P bond lengths within the P(P_1/3)₃ coordination environments, whereas no clear dependence on average P-P-P bond angles can be detected. Calculations of localized Kohn-Sham orbitals reveal that this bond-length dependence is reflected in energy variations in the corresponding localized p-p-θ orbitals influencing the paramagnetic deshielding contribution in Ramsey's equation. In contrast, the contributions of the lone pairs to shielding differences are small and/or do not vary in a systematic manner for the different crystallographically distinct phosphorus sites. The combined spectroscopic and quantum chemical approach applied here and the increased theoretical understanding of ³¹P chemical shifts will facilitate the structural elucidation of other phosphorus-based clusters and networks.