Shams Pir is named for a Mazar (shrine) of a saint named Hazrat Sham Pir which located on the island. Shams Pir is an old village which, like Bhit Shah Island and Baba Island, predates the formal establishment of Karachi.[3] Residents from Baba and Bhit islands helped settle Shams Pir.[4] During the British era, some residents of Mithadar and Kharadar were settled in Shams Pir during construction of the Port of Karachi.[5] Some of those residents moved further west and established the fishing village of Kakapir.[6]