It was named by the British navigator, Matthew Flinders, after Sir Evan Nepean on 21 March 1802.

[3] The Bay of Shoals is a body of water which is located immediately north of the settlement of Kingscote and whose mouth is located between Cape Rouge in the north and Beatrice Point in the south over a distance of about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi).

[3][4][2] Kingscote Harbour is the sheltered water between Bay of Shoals and Western Cove.

The harbour is sheltered by the Beatrice Islets, and it faces the northern part of the town of Kingscote.

The land at the head of the cove is low and swampy and continues so to Beare Point… Eastern Cove is the body of water whose mouth is located between Morrison Point in the west and Kangaroo Head in the east separated by a distance of about 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi).