Cape Jervis is on Kaurna ancestral land, but it would have been visited as well by members of the neighbouring Ramindjeri tribe. The name Parewarangk, thought to be a Ngarrindjeri adaptation of the Kaurna name Pariwarangga, is possibly an Aboriginal name for Cape Jervis. Nicholas Baudin named the Cape Jervis headland "Cap D'Alembert" and "Cap De La Secheresse", the former being recorded in the expedition’s official log, but it is Matthew Flinders’ name which has survived. Flinders named it after John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, on 23 March 1802.

An early settler at Cape Jervis was Frederick Ransford who came to South Australia in 1840 and by 1846 was leasing land in the area. Ransford gradually increased his property and built a stone house for himself and his family. The property became known as Cape Jervis Station. Many of the original buildings still remain, and there is a caravan park and Pear Tree bistro and coffee shop for tourists and visitors.