An apparatus for controlling operation of an autonomously navigating turnable utility vehicle, the vehicle being equipped with a body and a prime mover mounted on the body to make the vehicle travel about a working area delineated by a boundary wire in order to work autonomously in work mode, the apparatus having: a pair of magnetic sensors (40L, 40R) installed spaced apart from each other in a lateral direction of the body on the body of the vehicle, each of the pair of magnetic sensors detecting a magnetic field strength generated by electric current passing through the boundary wire; a turning angle detector configured to detect a turning angle (θ) of the vehicle; a travel distance detector configured to detect a travel distance of the vehicle; a travel controlling unit configured to control the prime mover to make the vehicle travel along the boundary wire in trace mode to be executed before the work mode, based on the magnetic field strength detected by one of the magnetic sensors while positioning other of the magnetic sensors inside the boundary wire; characterized by a route generating unit configured to generate a travel route along a boundary of the working area, based on the turning angle detected by the turning angle detector and the travel distance detected by the travel distance detector in the trace mode to be executed before the work mode; a memory unit configured to memorize the magnetic field strengths detected by the other of the magnetic sensor in the trace mode in association with the travel route; and a position identifying unit configured to identify a position of the vehicle in the work mode by comparing the magnetic field strengths (Hb) detected by the pair of magnetic sensors with the magnetic field strengths (Ha) memorized in the memory unit. a pair of magnetic sensors (40L, 40R) installed spaced apart from each other in a lateral direction of the body on the body of the vehicle, each of the pair of magnetic sensors detecting a magnetic field strength generated by electric current passing through the boundary wire; a turning angle detector configured to detect a turning angle (θ) of the vehicle; a travel distance detector configured to detect a travel distance of the vehicle; a travel controlling unit configured to control the prime mover to make the vehicle travel along the boundary wire in trace mode to be executed before the work mode, based on the magnetic field strength detected by one of the magnetic sensors while positioning other of the magnetic sensors inside the boundary wire; characterized by a route generating unit configured to generate a travel route along a boundary of the working area, based on the turning angle detected by the turning angle detector and the travel distance detected by the travel distance detector in the trace mode to be executed before the work mode; a memory unit configured to memorize the magnetic field strengths detected by the other of the magnetic sensor in the trace mode in association with the travel route; and a position identifying unit configured to identify a position of the vehicle in the work mode by comparing the magnetic field strengths (Hb) detected by the pair of magnetic sensors with the magnetic field strengths (Ha) memorized in the memory unit.