The rock has a sheer vertical face and was formed when molten lava was squeezed out of the Earth's clefts during the Mesozoic Era about 66 million years ago.

During that era, molten lava had spread around most of the Indian states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, covering an area of 50,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi).

[1] According to experts, this rare geological phenomenon was the remnant of a ridge and had clusters of vertical columns in nearby Jogeshwari which were quarried off two decades ago.[when?]

In 2007, after years of lobbying by geologists, the hill was declared a Grade II heritage structure by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), and all quarrying and other activities around the monument were prohibited.

Efforts are being made to convert Gilbert Hill into a tourist attraction and include it as a stop on a tour of Mumbai by Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation.