On the south face of the Rokan Stone is etched "ROKAN STON". The etching has so far faded that it is very difficult to make out. The name Rokan or Roke is believed to mean a thick, moist fog, as the area is prone to produce. It was described so by the Reverend John Atkinson in his 1891 book "Forty Years in a Moorland Parish". It was he who first brought attention to the Underhills at the head of Great Fryup Dale and theorised that they were produced by the action of a huge glacial lake during the last Ice Age.

The east side of the Rokan Stone, i.e. looking to the road, appears tiered due to its unique shape. To the east of the Stone is the head of Glaisdale. On the far side of the road is the declining east face of Glaisdale Rigg, which soon becomes declivitous as it drops to Great Fryup Dale above Fryup Lodge.

Looking at the Rokan Stone from the road, you can see right into Glaisdale Valley, with its fertile arable fields. The Valley appears where the moorland drops away suddently near to Birk Wath Beck, a watercourse bearing a waterfall, and becomes Hardhill Gill before merging with Glaisdale Beck.

Even in February Glaisdale Rigg can impart a hauntingly beautiful depiction. This image is looking north from the Rokan Stone to the 326m summit of Glaisdale Rigg with Glaisdale Valley to its east.