The town square was named after the steep coast of Cape Arkona on the island of Rügen by cabinet decision on 22 November 1875.

From the 1970s onwards, the GDR had the square extensively restored or partially modernized, and the areas were redesigned.

[2] After the end of the GDR, the square developed into a preferred residential area for young families.

Unlike fashionable neighbourhoods such as Helmholtzplatz and especially Kollwitzplatz in Prenzlauer Berg, as well as the areas of the Spandauer Vorstadt in Mitte, which are characterized by tourism, the square is considered quieter and has retained much of its original character.

After the end of the renovation measures in 1984, the entire residential area was handed over to the public in the presence of the GDR's head of state Erich Honecker.

[5] According to a legend, the idea of founding Berlin's most famous soccer club, Hertha BSC, was conceived in 1892 by the brothers Fritz and Max Lindner and Otto and Willi Lorenz on a bench at Arkonaplatz, where they themselves often played soccer.