The Cape Hermes Lighthouse which stands at Port St. John's in the Eastern Cape, was built in 1903, using local granite from nearby. The old lighthouse was built under the direction of HC Cooper, and the eight-sided structure was named after the ship, the HMS Hermes, which conducted national surveys of the Pondoland coastal waters. The previous structure, which the Cape Hermes Lighthouse was built to replace, was nothing more then a ship's mast head light, which used to hang outside the signal station. Historical records of Port St. John's record the previous structure as dating back to around 1890.

The present Cape Hermes Lighthouse was built at a cost of a little over 6,000 pounds, is 13 m high, and features a 5,000 candle power beam, which can be seen as far as 20 km out to sea. The Cape Hermes Lighthouse flashes once every three seconds, warning ships of the hazardous Eastern Cape coastline.