House of Music + Witch's Hut
Yes, &quot;use the location&quot; is short for &quot;use the ability at the location&quot;.
See this usage from the designer's posts here and here.
The designer refers to this variously as (emphasis added):

using the ability at the location is optional.


location ability may be used


You can use the forest but decide not to defeat anything


So when you activate it ...