For $\beta>1$, consider the $\beta$-transformation $T_\beta$. When $\beta$ is an integer, the natural extension of $T_\beta$ can be represented explicitly as a map on the unit square with an invariant measure: the corresponding two-dimensional Lebesgue measure. We show that, under certain conditions on $\beta$, the natural extension is defined on a simply connected region and an invariant measure is a constant multiple of the Lebesgue measure.

We characterize those $\beta$ in terms of the $\beta$-expansion of one, and study the structure and size of the set of all such $\beta$.