It is 14 km north-west of the central business district, on the Lefevre Peninsula, and falls under the City of Port Adelaide Enfield.

An early landmark was the Lord Exmouth Hotel, of which William Knapman (1830–1908) was in 1859 the first licensee and, at least in part, the builder.

The eponym of the hotel, Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth died at Teignmouth, 15 miles (24 km) south of Exeter, England.

The association of the suburb's name deepens, as Knapman's wife Charlotte was born in Christow near Exeter, England.

[4] A house in Denman Street has a blue plaque denoting its entry on the South Australian Heritage Register as a former Cooperative Society store.