The park contains the Great North Road, one of the eleven UNESCO World Heritage–listed Australian Convict Sites.

These eleven sites present the story of the forced migration of convicts and the ideas and practices of punishment and reform of criminals during this time.

[2] The relatively intact Devine's Hill and Finch's Line sections of the Old Great North Road, approximately 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) long and contained within the national park,[3] were inscribed on the World Heritage register in July 2010.

[4] The Dharug National Park lies within the Sydney Basin, a major structural unit of Permian and Triassic age (270-180 million years ago) consisting almost entirely of horizontally bedded sedimentary rocks.

[5] The park derives its name from the indigenous Darug people, south of the Hawkesbury River, who are not the traditional custodians of the area.