That 4 pin plug makes me think this vehicle was towed behind a motor home - this could ONLY be the case if the car is a manual. You can safely flat tow a Subaru manual transmission.
If that were the case then there would have been a tow bar bolted to the front frame in place of the crash bar. The tow hook probably interfered with the bar and was removed.
When they sold the car the tow bar was removed and they either forgot or did not have the tow hook to reinstall. If this is the case hopefully they reinstalled the crash bar - does the front bumper cover feel solid or does it have some bounce up and down when you push down on it?
Just my 10 cents from seeing this too many times on trade-ins and auction cars.