It is the site of both a navigation aid which operated as a staffed lighthouse from 1872 to 1973 and as an automatic beacon onward to the present day, and a rock lobster sanctuary declared under state law in 1973.

[3] The reef stands above a seabed located above the 10 metres (33 ft) depth contour and parts of it are above sea-level at low tide.

[6] In 1826, Sesostris, a ship carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales and under the command of a Captain Drake sighted the reef on the way to Sydney.

[7] A chart prepared by Thomas Lipson, the South Australian Government harbor master, showing the location of the reefs to the west of Cape Jaffa including Margaret Brock Reef as well as the location of the wreck of Margaret Brock was published in The South Australian Government Gazette on 7 April 1853.

In 1975, the portion of the structure consisting of the lantern room and the keepers' accommodation was dismantled and re-erected in Kingston SE for use by the National Trust of South Australia as a museum.