Vandals have damaged a popular Queensland mountain track by engraving and painting graffiti on the surrounding rock. 

Mount Ngungun is part of the Sunshine Coast's renowned Glasshouse Mountains and attracts about 5,000 visitors a week. 

It's a culturally significant mountain to the Kabi Kabi people, who were recently recognised as native title holders. 

The 2.8-kilometre return hike to the summit is popular with families, and the lookout offers sweeping views of the hinterland and coast. 

But the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) has put visitors on notice after a spate of recent vandalism damaged rocks near the end of the mountain walking track. 

On Thursday, rangers received a new report about fresh graffiti and carved engravings. 

They suspect some of it was done using power tools. 

"It is extremely disappointing to see selfish people cause this type of damage to the mountain," ranger James Plant said.

"Every person who graffitis this beautiful area is contributing to irreversible changes that undermine the park's cultural and environmental values." 

Large fines of almost $500,000 can be issued to people caught damaging national parks. 

The QPWS said in a statement the damage is "disrespectful to the Kabi Kabi people who have a strong connection to the area". 

Rangers and volunteers will spend this week trying to remove the graffiti. 

The mountain will remain open to the public. 

Last month, the Kabi Kabi people were formally recognised as native title holders of over 365,345 hectares of land and water on the Sunshine Coast, an area which includes Mount Ngungun. 

In 2023, vandals used power tools to carve a message into nearby Mount Beerwah, causing the mountain to be closed to the public for months while rangers worked to repair it. 

QPWS called out a similar instance of vandalism at Mount Ngungun in 2018.