The sandbar is located on the north bank of the Ohio River approximately four miles upstream from Brookport, Illinois. Some dispute exists over the bar in relation to territorial ownership. The state of Kentucky claims all lands south of the mean shore line of the fluctuating river which would include the bar although this apparently has never been tried in court. “Cottonwood Bar”, as it is called locally, if in Illinois, would lie partly in Pope County and partly in Massac County.