[5] The rock shelter occurs in a hill on the north side of the Howieson's Poort containing the main road into Grahamstown from Port Elizabeth.

[6] The cave is halfway up a cliff and is 7 m (23 ft) deep and 5.5 m (18 ft) wide at the mouth, with a large Real Yellowwood tree growing in the deposit and "bent horizontal with the floor to allow its branches to spread into the open at the mouth of the shelter".

[3] The original Howiesons Poort period remains were covered very slowly due to the cave's position halfway up the cliff and to wind clearance.

20,000 years ago, however, a rock fall acted to protect the deposits near the front from wind erosion.

[7] The stone tools were mostly large segments or 'crescents', obliquely backed blades and unifacial and bifacial points.