diff --git a/packages/@ember/-internals/glimmer/tests/integration/modifiers/on-test.js b/packages/@ember/-internals/glimmer/tests/integration/modifiers/on-test.js
index 7673295ac58..094b0ff991b 100644
--- a/packages/@ember/-internals/glimmer/tests/integration/modifiers/on-test.js
+++ b/packages/@ember/-internals/glimmer/tests/integration/modifiers/on-test.js
@@ -296,6 +296,84 @@ moduleFor(
       this.assertStableRerender();
       this.assertCounts({ adds: 2, removes: 0 });
     }
+
+    "@test listeners from the invocation run before the element's own listeners, wherever ...attributes is (GH#17877)"(
+      assert
+    ) {
+      let calls = [];
+
+      this.owner.register(
+        'component:before-splat',
+        setComponentTemplate(
+          precompileTemplate(`<button {{on 'click' this.inner}} ...attributes>Click</button>`),
+          class extends Component {
+            inner = () => calls.push('inner');
+          }
+        )
+      );
+
+      this.owner.register(
+        'component:after-splat',
+        setComponentTemplate(
+          precompileTemplate(`<button ...attributes {{on 'click' this.inner}}>Click</button>`),
+          class extends Component {
+            inner = () => calls.push('inner');
+          }
+        )
+      );
+
+      this.render(
+        `<BeforeSplat id="before" {{on 'click' this.outer}} /><AfterSplat id="after" {{on 'click' this.outer}} />`,
+        { outer: () => calls.push('outer') }
+      );
+
+      runTask(() => this.$('#before').click());
+      assert.deepEqual(calls, ['outer', 'inner'], 'own modifier before ...attributes');
+
+      calls = [];
+      runTask(() => this.$('#after').click());
+      assert.deepEqual(calls, ['outer', 'inner'], 'own modifier after ...attributes');
+    }
+
+    "@test listeners on ancestors in a component run after the caller's listeners, unless propagation is stopped (GH#17877)"(
+      assert
+    ) {
+      let calls = [];
+
+      this.owner.register(
+        'component:wrapped-button',
+        setComponentTemplate(
+          precompileTemplate(
+            `<div {{on 'click' this.wrapper}}><button {{on 'click' this.inner}} ...attributes>Click</button></div>`
+          ),
+          class extends Component {
+            inner = () => calls.push('inner');
+            wrapper = () => calls.push('wrapper');
+          }
+        )
+      );
+
+      let stop = false;
+
+      this.render(`<WrappedButton {{on 'click' this.outer}} />`, {
+        outer: (event) => {
+          calls.push('outer');
+          if (stop) event.stopPropagation();
+        },
+      });
+
+      runTask(() => this.$('button').click());
+      assert.deepEqual(calls, ['outer', 'inner', 'wrapper'], 'the ancestor listener runs last');
+
+      calls = [];
+      stop = true;
+      runTask(() => this.$('button').click());
+      assert.deepEqual(
+        calls,
+        ['outer', 'inner'],
+        "stopping propagation in the caller's listener prevents the ancestor listener"
+      );
+    }
   }
 );
 
diff --git a/packages/@glimmer/runtime/lib/modifiers/on.ts b/packages/@glimmer/runtime/lib/modifiers/on.ts
index 51b4f48d00a..e8c38554895 100644
--- a/packages/@glimmer/runtime/lib/modifiers/on.ts
+++ b/packages/@glimmer/runtime/lib/modifiers/on.ts
@@ -313,6 +313,49 @@ function addEventListener(
   In this case, the `saveLike` function will receive two arguments: the click event
   and the value of `@post`.
 
+  ### Listener Order
+
+  Listeners added with `{{on}}` are regular DOM event listeners, so they run in
+  the order they were added to an element, and an event reaches listeners on the
+  target element before it bubbles up to listeners on its ancestors.
+
+  When a component forwards modifiers to an element with `...attributes`, the
+  `{{on}}` listeners passed in by the caller run before the listeners that the
+  component puts on that element itself. This is true wherever `...attributes`
+  appears in the element's attribute list:
+
+  ```gjs {data-filename="app/components/my-button.gjs"}
+  <template>
+    <button {{on 'click' @onInnerClick}} ...attributes>
+      {{yield}}
+    </button>
+  </template>
+  ```
+
+  ```gjs
+  <template>
+    {{! When clicked, onOuterClick runs first, then onInnerClick }}
+    <MyButton {{on 'click' onOuterClick}} @onInnerClick={{onInnerClick}}>
+      Click me
+    </MyButton>
+  </template>
+  ```
+
+  This order is set when the listeners are first added. When the arguments to an
+  `{{on}}` change, for example because a different callback is passed in, that
+  listener is removed and added again, so it moves after the other listeners on
+  the element.
+
+  If a component needs its own handler to run first, for example to decide
+  whether the caller's handler should run, have the caller pass the handler as
+  an argument and call it from the component's handler instead of passing it
+  with `{{on}}`.
+
+  Calling `event.stopPropagation()` in any of these listeners stops the event
+  from reaching listeners on ancestor elements, including ones the component
+  put on a wrapping element in its own template. It does not stop the other
+  listeners on the same element.
+
   ### Function Context
 
   In the example above, we used `@action` to ensure that `likePost` is