Located off Batu Ferringhi, a suburb of the city of George Town, this uninhabited rocky outcrop was where the first European sailors to reach what is now Penang arrived in the 16th century.

[1] The isle was once named Batu Ferringhi ( English: Portuguese Rock) and has lent its name to the now popular tourist destination of Batu Ferringhi, a suburb of George Town.

In the 16th century, Portuguese sailors landed at the rock to obtain fresh water from the nearby streams.

[1] At the time, the Malay word Ferringhi, which was in turn derived from the Arabic ferringi, was originally used to denote a person of Portuguese descent.

Urban legend has it that Lovers' Isle was named as such after a couple, each of a different ethnicity, committed suicide at this outcrop.