Administratively, the boundaries of the traditional civil parish (Portuguese: freguesia) of São Francisco Xavier are coterminous with that of Coloane.

The northern shore of the parish is 4.5 metres (15 ft) deep,[citation needed] and is the site of the Macau Deepwater Port.

[citation needed] The eastern Hac Sa Beach (Chinese: 黑沙海灘; Cantonese Yale: Hāksā Hóitāan, Portuguese: Baía de Hác Sá) and the southern Cheoc Van Bay (Chinese: 竹灣; Cantonese Yale: Jūk wāan, Portuguese: Baía de Cheoc Van) are popular swimming beaches and overlook the South China Sea.

[3] Despite several anti-piracy efforts, Coloane remained a base of piracy until an incident in July 1910 where a group of 18 Chinese children were kidnapped by a band of pirates, requesting a ransom amount of 35,000 Macanese patacas.

[5] For many years, July 13 has served as a local holiday in Coloane, celebrating the victory over the pirates, with a statue in front of the Church of St. Francis Xavier (in Largo Eduardo Marques) commemorating the event.

Locally famous for its rural character, the island started to become more populated after the Estrada do Istmo causeway connecting Coloane with Taipa was completed in 1969, and became to become rapidly developed and populated starting in the 1990s, following the beginning of land reclamation works that created the area of Cotai and developed new towns such as Seac Pai Van.

The village centers on Eduardo Marques Square, which is a rectangle paved in cobblestones that are black, white and yellow, laid out in a wavy pattern reminiscent of the sea.

The square faces a seaside promenade that traces the channel dividing Macau from the mainland Chinese hills on Hengqin (Montanha).

The single-storey business premises of Veng Lok Shipyard and of Association of Shipbuilders of Macau-Taipa-Coloane are located inside the small courtyard to the right of the road atop the hill.

[6] The Lai Chi Vun shipyards are currently being evaluated to determine whether they meet the Macau SAR’s legal definition of cultural relics.