The river is at the northern edge of the Kenfig National Nature Reserve, a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest.

It flows through an area steeped in folklore and local legend, much of it tied in with the lost towns beneath the shifting sands of Kenfig Burrows.

This site was abandoned in the 13th century when the sand dunes, shifted by wild storms, began to bury parts of the village.

In 1968 BorgWarner opened a plant for the manufacture of automatic transmissions on the Kenfig Industrial Estate alongside the lower reaches of the river.

In December 2008, Borg-Warner announced that the plant would finally close by mid 2010 with the loss of all 110 jobs at the site; a statement from the company blamed the economic downturn for the decision.