Rising to a height of 170 feet, High Rock is less than three quarters of a mile from the ocean and commands unobstructed views of Boston, Nahant, and Swampscott. Although local historians suggest that the hill’s summit was used as a look-out point by Indians and early settlers, the site’s major fame dates from the mid-nineteenth century when High Rock and its porphyry outcroppings became appreciated for their “Romantic” qualities.