Island Hoskuldsey is about 450 m long and 150 m wide.  The farm buildings stood to the south of the Blika Mound in the centre of the island.  The earlier houses were made of wood, but a concrete building was constructed there in 1920.  The island supported 2-3 cows and 10-15 sheep.  The inhabitants had summer pastures for the animals on the mainland and access to peat, turf and wood plus a meal for the churchgoers. These advantages were a compensation for the mainlanders’ fishing outfits and ship dockings on the island.

The island was first mentioned in the Eyrbyggja Saga, when Thorsteinn thorskabitur went there for fishing and drowned.  At that time Thorsteinn's shepherd saw the Holy Mountain open up and heard the celebrations, when Thorsteinn and his shipmates were welcomed among the dead. After 1920, fishing mostly stopped from the island, but autumn fishing continued until 1934.