On a particularly clear day, the island of Yoron (Yoronjima) in Kagoshima Prefecture can be seen on the horizon.

Yoron Island is located approximately 23 kilometres (14 mi) to the north.

[2] In the Shōhō Kuniezu, a kuniezu, or series of Japanese provincial land maps created during the Edo period (1603 – 1868), Cape Hedo appears as "Heto misaki", or "Cape Heto".

The expedition of Commodore Perry (1794 – 1858) visited Cape Hedo and recorded it as "Cape Hope" in his Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan.

[1] The site has become a tourist destination, both for its location, and for the monument erected there commemorating the end of US Occupation and return of Okinawa to Japanese sovereignty.