In 1858/59, the Schiersteiner Hafen was opened as a protective and rafting harbour, with a harbour basin over 1,000 m long and over 200 m wide, offering space for the wintering of over 60 ships and was used for rafting. However, use of the Schierstein harbour remained low, with water sports clubs discovering the area for their own purposes instead. In the summer of 1914, a modern lido opened on the Rettbergsaue.

After the Second World War, the US Navy set up a base for the Rhine River Patrol, which was replaced in 1958 by river patrols from the German army. A small industrial area with railway sidings, ship moorings, bunkers and fire-fighting facilities was created in the area of the Osthafen dam. Industrial facilities and barracks were demolished in the 1990s and the area was developed with apartments. The Dyckerhoff Bridge was built in 1967.

Today, 80% of the Schierstein harbor is owned by the federal government as part of a federal waterway. The fireboats of the Wiesbaden fire department have their home port here. The German Life Saving Association has been present at the tip of the Bismarkaue harbor since 1929. In the 1950s, the expansion of the harbor promenade and the transformation of the Schierstein harbor into a leisure harbor began. Numerous water sports clubs and yacht clubs have since used the harbor basin as a venue for water sports competitions. The Schierstein Harbour Festival has been held around the harbour since 1949.