This 11-metre-high construction is located at the Ínsua tip of Cape Laxe, on a hill about 50 metres above sea level, which defends the town and the port from the prevailing winds, in a privileged natural area.
The current lighting installation dates from 1996 and its characteristics correspond to those of an Acrylic Rotating Beacon, equipped with incandescent lamps connected to the electrical network. Its luminous appearance corresponds to that of a group of 5 flashes in 20 seconds.
In nearby waters, the Playa de Arnela sank in 1972, a ship from Corme that on arrival at its port the sea dragged it to the stones and breakers of Punta da Insua, saving only two crew members.
The toponym “A Costa da Morte” defines a large area of Galicia between the estuaries of Muros and Noia and that of A Coruña. This curious place name, according to some scholars, could have been coined by the Greeks to define the region where the Sun disappeared daily into the sea and sank into the land of the dead until the next morning.