During the Variscan orogeny, magma intruded along structural zones, but cooled and solidified before reaching the Earth surface.

The surrounding softer material eroded and the harder granite remained, creating the tors of the rock formation.

As of 2014, a total of around 50 minerals and 10 varieties have been discovered here, including inter alia the well-known minerals andalusite, beryl, gypsum, haematite, muscovite, sphalerite, pyrite, topaz, wavellite and zircon, as well as various garnets, tourmalines, (dravite, elbaite, schorl) and wolframites.

Stairs lead up to the tallest rock, which offers a nice view of the surrounding Ore Mountains.

Karl Stülpner (1762–1842), a local renegade and folk hero (the Robin Hood of the Ore Mountains) had a hiding place in one of the numerous caverns of the Greifensteine area.