Pulau Palawan, also known as Palawan Island, is a slipper-shaped islet

Islet

An islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....

 located just off the southwestern coast of Sentosa

Sentosa

Sentosa, which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay , is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year...

, south of Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. It lies approximately opposite Beach Station

Beach Monorail Station

Beach Station is the fourth and last station along the Sentosa Express in Singapore. It is located between Siloso Beach and Palawan Beach in Sentosa...

 of the Sentosa Express

Sentosa Express

Sentosa Express is a monorail line connecting Sentosa island to HarbourFront on the Singapore mainland across the waters.Built at a cost of S$140 million, development started in June 2003 and was completed in December 2006. The fully elevated 2.1-kilometre two-way line and three out of four...

 monorail system, which is between Siloso Beach and Palawan Beach. Palawan is most likely a variant of the Malay

Malay language

Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

 word pahlawan, meaning "hero" or "warrior".

Originally a reef

Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....

 known as Serembu Palawan, and marked on at least one map as "Palawan Reef", it was renamed Pulau Palawan after land reclamation. The island now has an area similar to that of Pulau Biola

Pulau Biola

Biola is a small 0.4-hectare island located off the southwestern coast of Singapore, between Pulau Senang to its north and Pulau Satumu to its south.-Panoramic image:-External links:* - Google Maps...

, about 0.4 hectare (0.988420652061104 acre).

Confusion with island off Palawan Beach

Pulau Palawan is not to be confused with an unnamed U-shaped artificial sandy islet that is linked to Palawan Beach on Sentosa by a simple suspension bridge

Simple suspension bridge

A simple suspension bridge is an early type of bridge that is supported entirely from anchors at either end, and has no towers or piers. However, it may have saddles...

. The islet has two lookout towers, and there is a sign on the islet erected by the Sentosa Development Corporation

Sentosa Development Corporation

Sentosa Development Corporation is a statutory board in Singapore, under the purview of the Ministry of Trade and Industry....

 declaring that it is the "southernmost point of Continental Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

". This may be disputed on the ground that the islet is not part of Continental Asia since it is only linked to Sentosa by a bridge. Sentosa itself is connected to the main island of Singapore by a causeway

Causeway

In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...

, and Singapore is in turn linked to Peninsular Malaysia

Peninsular Malaysia

Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...

by two causeways. In addition, another beach on Sentosa called Tanjong Beach is arguably further south than the islet.