The lighthouse marks the entrance to the huge Boknafjorden, the main shipping route to the city of Stavanger, and inland Rogaland county.

Today, the light sits at an elevation of 45.2 metres (148 ft) above sea level.

[2][3] The lighthouse was automated and depopulated in 1969, and has been preserved as a protected historic building.

[4] The first construction from 1700 was a pivotal "bucket light" fuelled by coal, which could be lifted about six metres above the ground.

The operation of the light was funded by a toll system for ships passing Kvitsøy.