Heathcote is located 36 kilometers south of the Sydney central business district; it is in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire. Heathcote was originally known as Bottle Forest. In 1842 there were 14 town allotments in Bottle Forest in what is now Heathcote East. Surveyor-Governor Sir Thomas Mitchell in 1835 named it Heathcote after conducting a survey of the area.
The name Heathcote was chosen in honor of an officer who had fought alongside him during the Peninsula War against Napoleon. Heathcote railway station opened in 1886 and a hall was built in East Heathcote the following year. The town is split into two sections by the railway line. Heathcote East has two schools and a sports oval, while the larger west side has the bigger population there is also a small group of shops by the railway station. Heathcote is bounded by the suburbs of Engadine and Waterfall.