Previously, signal flags were hoisted on the mountain to warn ships of an impending storm, and ships could give distress signals. Signal Hill is famous for the Noon Gun signal guns mounted on its top, controlled from the South African Astronomical Observatory. She helped the sailors set the exact time on their chronometers. In 1934, radio signals began to be used for these purposes. On the slopes of Signal Mountain is located the Bo-Kaap quarter of Cape Town, formerly called Malay, founded by Muslim settlers from Southeast Asia (mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei).