legend says that in the rock still live the spirits of jurema and cauby.  against the laws of her tribe, jurema was an indigenous girl in love with cauby, a boy from a rival tribe.  according to the tale the pair could not resist their love for each other, and in the end they were both killed by her tribe.

both pedra do índio and pedra de itapuca have been declared natural monuments by  the instituto estadual do patrimônio cultural (inepac), rio's state institute for cultural heritage.