The Malarrak complex is located within the Wellington Range, the northern most outlier of the Arnhem Land Plateau in the far north of the Northern Territory. The Wellington Range is home to extensive and diverse rock art, including many examples of paintings that reflect contact between local Aboriginal people and international visitors. The Malarrak sites are located within the traditional country of Maung speakers, where Ronald Lamilami is a Manganowal Senior Traditional Owner.

During the dry season of 2008, the Malarrak complex was recorded using rock art recording procedures developed over many years. This included compiling a detailed inventory of the art and noting the layering of different styles and subject matter. The main shelter is comprised of one large art panel that measures 31 metres long by 4.8 metres deep. This shelter contains a minimum of 232 paintings and 8 stencils in 17 layers. The remaining three rock shelters contain at least: 128 paintings, 6 stencils and 2 beeswax figures. A total of 34 paintings that clearly depict introduced subject-matter (contact art) were recorded at Malarrak and include an astonishing 17 European sailing vessels and much smaller numbers of horned introduced animals, guns and smoking paraphernalia.