You can specify a node for rabbitmqctl, but not a port. On Ubuntu, the only way to get rabbitmqctl via package is to install the full server. There are zero actionable Google search results regarding passing a port into rabbitmqctl.
Does that imply that rabbitmqctl is only meant to be run from the server?
To administer a server on another host, you need to use the REST interface. There is no other way. The REST interface is excellent. It's exhaustive and perfectly RESTful. It requires the "management" plugin to be installed.
https://www.rabbitmq.com/management.html
http://hg.rabbitmq.com/rabbitmq-management/raw-file/rabbitmq_v3_3_5/priv/www/api/index.html