It is small but also the most secluded and protected major Haida settlement because of its location on a sheltered rocky bay.

They had approximately two dozen permanent villages, as well as other smaller seasonal settlements located near major resource areas.

[8]: 6  The last chief to be born in Ninstints, whose English name is Thomas Price, was a noted and highly artistic carver of Haida art, notably in argillite.

[8]: 51 SG̱ang Gwaay Llnagaay was the location of several notable episodes in the early history of European contact and trade with the Haida.

Because of this, and the diseases that ravaged the villages, many moved to economic hubs such as Masset, Skidegate, and as far as Victoria to take advantage of this growing relationship.

[8]: 47 For those who remained at SGang Gwaay Llanagaay, their population was greatly reduced by the 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic.