A theoretical investigation on heavy ion-acoustic (HIA) solitary and shock structures has been accomplished in an unmagnetized multispecies plasma consisting of inertialess kappa-distributed superthermal electrons, Boltzmann light ions, and adiabatic positively charged inertial heavy ions. Using the reductive perturbation technique, the nonplanar (cylindrical and spherical) Kortewg–de Vries (KdV) and Burgers equations have been derived. The solitary and shock wave solutions of the KdV and Burgers equations, respectively, have been numerically analyzed. The effects of superthermality of electrons, adiabaticity of heavy ions, and nonplanar geometry, which noticeably modify the basic features (viz. polarity, amplitude, phase speed, etc.) of small but finite amplitude HIA solitary and shock structures, have been carefully investigated. The HIA solitary and shock structures in nonplanar geometry have been found to distinctly differ from those in planar geometry. Novel features of our present attempt may contribute to the physics of nonlinear electrostatic perturbation in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas.