The town came briefly under the control of the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) during the early 1990s, until the Sri Lankan Army recaptured it in 1995.

The place name of Point Pedro is a corruption of the Portuguese "Ponta das Pedras" meaning "the rocky cape".

In Point Pedro's market there is a stone inscription commemorating Baldeus giving lessons from the Bible under a tamarind tree.

Heritage sites in Point Pedro include the lighthouse, the Vallipuram temple and St. Lourdes church of Thumpalai.

If the much-delayed and frequently re-planned Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project is completed, deepening the Palk Straits between India and Sri Lanka to allow larger ships to pass, rather than having to travel 650 km (350 nmi) around Sri Lanka, then Point Pedro and other ports in the Jaffna peninsula may see a significant increase in maritime trade, especially with India.