The forest is part of the IUCN's Maputaland Centre of Plant Endemism[1]: vi It is the site of the murder of the Zulu King Dingane by Zulu Nyawo, iNkosi Sambane of the Nyawo Royal House and Nondawana.

After being stabbed to death, Dingane was buried beneath a large fig tree at his residence at eSankoleni.

In 1987, while under the jurisdiction of the KwaZulu bantustan, it was renamed to Hlathikhulu Nature Reserve.

[1]: 9 Bird species recorded here include the lemon dove (Aplopelia larvata), trumpeter hornbill (Bycanistes bucinator), olive woodpecker (Dendropicos griseocephalus), pink-throated twinspot (Hypargos margaritatus), Livingstone's turaco (Tauraco livingstonii) and African crowned eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus).

[2] Tree species found here include the Lebombo ironwood (Androstachys johnsonii) and Lebombo krantz ash (Atalaya alata).