The island is variously described as being part of Hong Kong and Zhuhai, with most sources favoring the latter.

[2] Guishan is inhabited by several thousand people living in two settlements and is administrated as part of Zhuhai.

[3] Located in the highly trafficked Pearl River estuary and included in the heavily populated Pearl River delta, Guishan has been considered for a large-scale development project.

This administrative difference could also allow the Chinese government to directly invest in the project, and raises issues over Hong Kong's sovereignty.

[4] The development of Guishan island is part of a wider plan to reclaim islands in the Pearl River estuary; this decades-long project is slated to promote the development of Dazhi Zhou (大蜘洲), Xiaozhi Zhou (小蜘洲), Qing Zhou (青洲), and Sanjiaoshan islands (三角山岛).