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History: On a rock in this area the name of O Slotsbo, IT Rhenius and O Bergh are engraved. On the 30th October 1682, a party under the leadership of Oloff Bergh left the Castle too investigate the area from which the Namakwas brought samples of copper-ore the previous year. Bergh engraved his name and 1682 on the rock. Many early travellers visited the place after Bergh. Simon van der Stel paid a visit on 14th September 1685, and Starrenburg during 1705. During 1712 Captain K J Slotsbo also engraved his name and the year on the rock and during 1721 sub-lieutenant JT Rhenius while on a cattle-trade mission, also visited the fountain and engraved his name and date on the rock.

To the north of Graafwater, near Ratelfontein railway siding on the farm H are situated two of the most interesting historical sites in the north-western region: Bergfontein on the Klipfontein Mountain and the Heerenlogement cave in the Heerenlogement Mountain. Both these sites are closely bound up with the earliest journeyings to the north-western area.
The spring known as Bergfontein is not far from the homestead of Hotwegfontein farm. On 30th October, 1682, a party left the Castle under the leadership of Ensign Oloff Bergh with instructions to investigate the area from which some Namaquas had brought pieces of copper to the Cape during the previous year. Under the date Monday, 9 November the ‘Diary of the journey’ records ‘. . . came to a rocky mountain where there was a spring with good fresh water, which we gave the name of Berg Fonteijn. . .’ Oloff Bergh engraved his name arid the date 1682 on the rock above the spring. Many other early travellers to the north-west visited the spring after Bergh. Simon van der Stel stopped there on 14th September, 1685, on his journey to the Copper Mountains and J. Starrenburg who refers to the spring as ‘Olof’s Fonteijn’ visited it in 1705. On 11th October, 1712, Captain Kaie Jesse Slotsbo arrived there during a tour of exploration and also carved his name and the year on the rock. Nine years later, on 29th September, 1721, Ensign I. T. Rhenius visited the spring during a cattle-trading expedition and added his name and the date of his visit to the other inscriptions on the rock.
The spring at Bergfontein is historically important because it was a well-known landmark and a place where many early expeditions to the arid north-western region stopped to refresh themselves.
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