It is located between Port Chalmers and Portobello, to the northeast of Dunedin's city centre.

[1] The name is also sometimes used to refer to the extinct Dunedin Volcano, of which Otago Harbour is the crater.

Unlike its neighbour, Goat Island / Rakiriri today is uninhabited, and is designated as a scenic reserve[2] and Historic Area.

[3] It has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area because it has a breeding colony of bronze shags.

[4] The two islands, along with the Portobello Peninsula, are all part of a ridge (anticline) lying across the centre of the harbour, which was the crater of the long-extinct Dunedin volcano - running from Portobello to Port Chalmers.