Tower Rock Vineyard & Winery takes its name from the imposing limestone island emerging from the Mississippi River about two miles to the east. The island was carved by the river’s current and its quarter-acre top is home to upland forest with stands of oak, pine, hickory and beech. The banks of the Mississippi offer a scenic view of Tower Rock although the island itself is accessible only by boat, except in extremely low water.

In 2003 and in 1988, the river dropped to a level that allowed people walk to the rock. In February 2003 the Mississippi River stage at nearby Grand Tower, Ill., was at 4.41 feet. At the same time, the river was at 4.79 feet at Cape Girardeau, where the flood stage.

Tower Rock has certain historical significance: Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet saw it in 1673 and were warned by Indians that demons lived between the rock and shore, an idea probably spawned by the howling winds and rough current in the narrows.

Tower Rock has always served as a landmark for river travelers, as it did during the Civil War for the crews of Pook Turtles, or City class iron-clad gunboats in service on the Mississippi. Built from the keel up in shipyards owned by James Buchanan Eads – located on the Des Peres River in Carondolet, Mo. – the vessels were often referred to as "Eads gunboats" and took part in almost every significant action on the upper Mississippi and its tributaries.

A quarrying operation to make the river easier to navigate nearly blasted Tower Rock into oblivion in the mid-1800s, but a local outcry saved it.

Tower Rock was designated as a National Historic Site on Nov. 15, 1972, and is owned by the Missouri Department of Conservation.