It is the site of both the mouth of the River Murray and the regional city of Victor Harbor.

There are at least two definitions of the bay’s extent: Although traditional ownership has long been ascribed to the Ramindjeri clan of the Ngarrindjeri people,[6] linguist Rob Amery of the University of Adelaide suggested in a 1998 paper that Kaurna traditional lands "may have extended as far eastward as Encounter Bay and that the occupation of Encounter Bay by the Ramindjeri in the late 1830s may have been a response to the activities of whalers in the area".

(Both parties were unaware that the Treaty of Amiens, ceasing hostilities, had been signed on 25 March 1802.

[14] The bay's coastline is the site for the following settlements: Victor Harbor, Port Elliot, Middleton and Goolwa.

The following protected areas adjoin the shores of the bay: the Coorong National Park.