It was established as a housing estate named Regent Gardens in 1992 and is located on former Department of Agriculture land.

[7][8] Its notable buildings include the Salvation Army Corps and Community Centre; the Christadelphian Church run Heritage College Adelaide; James Nash House, a secure mental health facility; various former Hillcrest Hospital buildings, most of which have been converted for use by other tenants including for student accommodation, small business and nursing home; The Oakden Central, a tavern run by the Adelaide City FC with associated training venue; the Oakden Fire Station; and the remainder of the Strathmont Centre (1971–2017), a Government of South Australia institution for those with a severe intellectual disability.

Makk and McLeay Nursing Home and Clements House, formerly known as Hillcrest Hospital, which closed in 2017 was also in Oakden at 200 Fosters Road.

Oakden has two retail establishments, housed in the same building on Sir Ross Smith Boulevard, consisting of a cafe and hairdresser.

It is home to Roy Amer Reserve,[9] a regional park including wetlands that serves as a storm water capture and aquifer recharge system as well as a native fish sanctuary, which was constructed by the City of Port Adelaide Enfield in the early 1990s and won state and national engineering awards.