[6][7][8] A surveyor noted in 1833 that the local Aboriginal people, the Noongar, called the river "Koorrabup" meaning "place of the black swan".

The ceremonial site has been used by Noongar people for over 10,000 years as a place of dance, song, marriage preparation, initiation and food gathering.

[11] Historically the Denmark River's water quality declined as a result of land clearing in the catchment area since European settlement.

It is estimated that 40% of the river's upper catchment area was cleared and as a result salinity levels increased from 40 mg/L in the 1940s to a peak of 1520 mg/L in 1987 at the Mt Lindesay gauging station.

[12][13] By 2012 average annual salinity levels had dropped to 470 mg/L, below World Health Organization guidelines for drinking water for the first time in nearly 40 years.