The section settings icon will only appear if the document numbering is turned on.
When the document numbering is turned on the section settings are split into 2 sections.
Heading properties
These heading settings will override what is set in the document properties.
For example, when heading numbering is turned you may wish to change the parameters for an individual heading.
In that case you would use these settings for an individual section to override the default settings.
Note: If you turn off numbering for a main heading it will apply to ALL sub-headings underneath if it has any.
Section numbering
The section numbering works in the same way as heading properties, the only difference being these settings can be applied even when section numbering is turned off and apply only to the sections not the headings.
For example you may wish to have section numbering turned on or off for the document but you want to change the parameters for an individual section then you would use these settings to override what is the default.