Situated on the Nullarbor Plain, Fowlers Bay was once an active port and a gateway to the western reaches of the continent, but fell into decline in the 1960s and 1970s.

The southern right whales that frequent the Great Australian Bight were a target of whalers in the past, but now bring sightseers.

[10] The Mirning, Kokatha, and Maralinga Tjarutja people, some of whom lived at the Yalata Mission during the 1950s after being displaced, also have spiritual connections to the country.

[a] The coastline around Fowlers Bay was first mapped in 1627 by François Thijssen, a Dutch sea captain, on his ship 't Gulden Zeepard (Golden Seahorse).

[11] In the 1860s, the first pastoral leases were established by William Swan and Robert Barr Smith, forming Yalata station (they called it Yatala run[12]), a farming property whose boundaries extended from the Head of the Bight (Nullarbor Plain) in the west to Point Brown near Streaky Bay in the east.

[17] The 5,000 ha (12,000-acre) sheep station's homestead, now a ruin, was built in 1880 on a high hill around 10 km (6.2 mi) inland from Fowlers Bay.

[21] It is located within the federal Division of Grey, the state electoral district of Flinders and the Pastoral Unincorporated Area of South Australia.

[11] Visually the town is dominated by large sand dunes on its southern side, which have become higher in recent years.

[11] It is feared that climate change might be exacerbating their movement owing to the added stress on the vegetation caused by aridity.

The CSIRO has estimated that rainfall will decline by around 30 per cent in the region by 2100, which will impact the plant life significantly and affect their ability to hold the dunes.

[11] For several years before and including 2021, residents of the town have been working to stabilise the dunes by planting new vegetation such as boobialla trees and other native plants, and the government of South Australia approved funds to help pay for the revegetation of the ridge that causes the greatest risk to the town.

[11] Fowlers Bay has a cool semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), with moderating influences from the Great Australian Bight.