Ancient winds blow down from the mountains to the hill above Pelekane Beach, cooling walls of water-worn lava rocks warmed by the intense sun and whispering of days when prophecies were fulfilled, a stranded sailor became a great chief, and a king united a chain of battling islands. Part of modern-day Pu‘ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site in Kawaihae, the rocks are the remains of Puʻukoholā Heiau, the temple that Kamehameha I built in 1791.

The 86-acre park offers unforgettable views of the northwest coast of Hawai‘i Island and glimpses into Hawaiʻi’s history. Puʻukoholā Heiau and the surrounding cultural landscape are powerful symbols of the unification of the Hawaiian kingdom under Kamehameha I. Prophecies foretold both the birth of Kamehameha I and the construction of the heiau. According to Hawaiian legend, Kokoiki, a dazzling star with the feathers of a bird, was sighted in the sky the night before Kamehameha I was born at the northern tip of Kohala.

While most modern scholars concede that the star was Halley’s Comet, which passed over Hawaiʻi in 1758, Hawaiian kāhuna (priests or mystic seers) interpreted Kokoiki to be a sign of the birth of a great conqueror. Named “Paiʻea” at birth, the infant was hidden in Waipiʻo Valley to protect him from his grandfather, Alapai, who ordered that his grandson be put to death after learning of the sign. Given the name “Kamehameha” (the very lonely one, the one set apart), the child was raised and trained by his uncle Kalaniʻōpuʻu to be a fierce warrior. Kalaniʻōpuʻu’s son, Kīwalaʻō, was a rival to the throne, and the wheels of fate began to turn when Kamehameha defeated and killed his cousin in the Battle of Mokuʻōhai in 1782, gaining control over Hawaiʻi Island’s north and west sides. 

In 1790, the highly revered kāhuna Kāpoūkahi instructed Kamehameha to build a heiau and dedicate it to Kūkā‘ilimoku, his family’s war god. In return, Kūkā‘ilimoku would aid him in conquering all the Hawaiian Islands. Puʻukoholā, meaning the “hill of the whale,” was chosen as the location for its views of invading enemies and for the mana (spiritual power) of the other heiau already present on the hill. The building of the Puʻukoholā Heiau was overseen by a hulihonua (expert in the earth’s configuration), while other kāhuna decided on the dimensions and performed ritualistic ceremonies.

Multigenerational stories suggest that Kamehameha and his builders created a human chain between 20 and 25 miles long, spanning from Pololū Valley, passing lava rock after lava rock from one person to the next, up and over Kohala Mountain to Puʻukoholā, until there were enough stones to build the heiau. Everyone but the high chief Kealiʻimaikaʻi (the only full-blooded brother of Kamehameha) was obligated to help move the rocks for the heiau. Builders placed lava rocks in precise locations to meet building specifications, demonstrating respect for Kūkā‘ilimoku through the techniques and religious protocols used in the temple’s construction. 

A 224-foot by 100-foot structure, the ocean side of the heiau was terraced and left open, while rock walls were built on the landward and end sides. High walls enclosed the area of the main temple platform, and smaller platforms were erected within the heiau. It is believed that thousands of laborers spent nearly a year constructing the heiau, without the use of cement, mortar, or other bonding materials. The building of Puʻukoholā Heiau was underway when the British fur trading vessel Eleanora sailed into Kealakekua Bay in South Kona. John Young, a sailor on board the ship, went ashore armed with a musket and sword to survey the land and trade for supplies. When evening fell, Young attempted to return to his ship, only to find himself apprehended by Kamehameha. Eventually, the Eleanora was forced to depart without Young, leaving him stranded on Hawaiʻi Island.

One of the few foreigners to be appointed as a high chief in Hawaiʻi, Young became integral to the conquests of Kamehameha. After Young equipped him with cannons and muskets, Kamehameha led Hawaiʻi’s warriors in the Battle of Kepaniwai, defeating Maui’s forces and bringing the islands of Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi under his rule in 1790. These new weapons proved to be pivotal in Kamehameha’s campaign to bring the Hawaiian Islands under his rule, as did the favor of Kūkā‘ilimoku, which he seemingly won when he finished Puʻukoholā Heiau in 1791. Pu‘ukoholā Heiau would be the last major temple that Kamehameha built as a high chief and one of the last principal heiau constructed in the Hawaiian Islands.

Pu‘ukoholā Heiau was consecrated with human offerings, including that of high chief Keōua Kūahu‘ula, Kamehameha’s cousin and ruler of the districts of Kaʻū and Puna, who was killed and sacrificed on the heiau’s altar. Much debate has ensued as to whether Kūahu‘ula surrendered of his own will. Regardless, the chief’s death distinguished Kamehameha as ruler of the entire island of Hawaiʻi. While George Washington was serving as the first president of the United States of America, Kamehameha was uniting Hawaiʻi into an undivided kingdom, one momentous battle at a time. In 1794, Kamehameha led his army and peleleu (fleet of war canoes) northward to reconquer Maui and went on to defeat Oʻahu’s warriors at the Battle of Nuʻuanu in 1795. Kauaʻi and Niʻihau peacefully conceded in 1810. Nineteen years after the building of Puʻukoholā Heiau, Kamehameha’s mana was strong enough to unify the warring islands into the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. Kāhuna Kāpoūkahi’s prophecy was fulfilled, and the reign of the Kamehameha dynasty began. 

Kamehameha I’s rule as King Kamehameha, however, lasted less than ten years. By 1819, he died and was succeeded by his son, Kamehameha II. On his deathbed, Kamehameha I uttered the words “E oni wale nō ‘oukou i ku‘u pono, ‘a‘ole e pau” (Conquer you must, for my righteous deeds have not yet been fulfilled.), which became the foundation for a legacy of unification represented by Puʻukoholā Heiau. As for Young, he married the daughter of an ali‘i, had six children, and built a house near Puʻukoholā Heiau to raise his family in. When Young died in 1835, his granddaughter, Queen Emma, inherited the home and his other lands.

After King Kamehameha’s death, Kamehameha II traveled to Pu‘ukoholā Heiau to perform a reconsecration ritual. Shortly after, the kapu system, which had been in place for centuries, was dismantled. Influenced by the arrival of Christian missionaries who disapproved of the worship of Hawaiian gods, Kamehameha I’s widow, Queen Consort Ka‘ahumanu, ended the kapu system and had the heiau’s idols and structures burned.

No longer used as a temple, Puʻukoholā Heiau was abandoned, and the area around Puʻukoholā Heiau became farm and ranch land, contributing to the heiau’s neglect. Aware of its significance in the unification of Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiian Territorial Government designated Puʻukoholā Heiau as a Historical Landmark in 1928. It wasn’t until the 1960s, however, that significant restoration efforts transpired. The conservationist and philanthropist Laurance S. Rockefeller donated a “grant-in-aid” to the Bishop Museum, which funded an archaeological survey in 1964 that included Puʻukoholā Heiau.

The Queen Emma Foundation played a key role in the establishment of Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, initially donating 34 acres of land that encompassed Pu‘ukoholā Heiau and the John Young Homestead in 1972, and an additional 26.5 acres in 1990. On August 17, 1972, the U.S. Congress designated Pu‘ukoholā Heiau as a National Historic Site to be preserved in public ownership for future generations. Since then, the park has served as a symbol of unification. For this reason, Puʻukoholā Heiau is still regarded by many contemporary Hawaiians as instrumental in the rebuilding of the Hawaiian nation. 

To commemorate the bicentennial of the heiau’s completion and the legacy of unification, the park hosted the first annual Ho‘oku‘ikahi I Pu‘ukoholā Establishment Day celebration in August of 1991. Meaning “To unify at Pu‘ukoholā,” Ho‘oku‘ikahi I Pu‘ukoholā began as a cultural festival intended to bring Native Hawaiians together and heal historical divisions, with an emphasis on reconciling the descendants of Keōua Kūʻahuʻula and Kamehameha I. A place of destiny, Pu‘ukoholā Heiau has emerged as a hill of healing, where ancient ceremonies and religious practices are perpetuated. 

Today, Pu‘ukoholā Heiau is the only National Historic Site known to contain three types of heiau that exemplify traditional Hawaiian practices, including Mailekini Heiau. Believed to have been either a sacrificial and/or an agricultural heiau, Mailekini Heiau was converted to a military fort before becoming part of the site. The site also protects the ruins of Hale o Kapuni Heiau, a temple dedicated to sharks as ancestral ‘aumakua (family guardians). Here, Alapa‘i Kupalupalu Manō, a chief who ruled Kohala during Kamehameha’s ascent to power, fed the sharks regularly. Although sharks typically avoid shallow water in broad daylight, a considerable number of blacktip reef sharks still swim over the heiau, which is now submerged in Pelekane Bay.

Pu‘ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site is also home to Pelekane, a royal compound that hosted several diplomatic meetings between Kamehameha and foreign visitors before serving as a residence for Queen Emma and other ruling figures who favored the area’s available fresh water. Additionally, the site features the remains of the John Young Homestead, widely regarded as the first Western-style structure built in the Hawaiian Islands. And part of Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, a 175-mile corridor and trail that passes through hundreds of ancient Hawaiian settlements and connects heiau and communities on the island, traverses through Pu‘ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site. 

The sacred site includes an anuʻunuʻu (oracle tower), ahu (ceremonial rock structure) and paehumu (fence of images). And the foundation on which Pu‘ukoholā Heiau once stood remains largely intact, affirming the cultural significance of this area. With the Kawaihae Harbor to the northwest, Samuel Spencer County Beach Park at ‘Ōhai‘ula to the south, and Kawaihae Bay to the southwest of the Pu‘ukoholā Heiau, the marine waters of Pu‘ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site provide a refuge for threatened green sea turtles and other species endemic or native to Hawai‘i. Freshwater communities that are part of a critical hydrologic system can be found at the park, as can terrestrial vertebrates and native vegetation. By reintroducing endangered and threatened species of native vegetation to the area and fostering traditional ceremonies and practices, Pu‘ukoholā Heiau remains a nurturing space for both Hawaiian culture and native species to flourish and thrive. 

Pu‘ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site offers ample opportunities for immersive cultural experiences. Although visitors are never permitted to enter Pu‘ukoholā Heiau, anyone can take the free audio tour of the park, which includes the exterior of the heiau. Through a trip to the park’s Visitor Center, visitors can learn about the founding of the Hawaiian Kingdom and experience living Hawaiian culture through exhibits, a museum and an enlightening video. And every week, park volunteer Ed Dowling teaches visitors to play Hawaiian checkers, and cultural practitioner Pomai Brown brings to life the art of crafting mahiʻole (helmets once worn by aliʻi) from ʻieʻie, olonā and other indigenous and native plants. 

When visiting this heiau, be respectful of its relevance as a wahi kapu (a sacred place) that perpetuates a living history and nurtures essential aspects of Hawaiian culture by inspiring continued spiritual practices and ceremonies. Close your eyes for a moment and connect with the enduring mana that Pu‘ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site embodies.

Pu‘ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site; 62-3601 Kawaihae Road; Kawaihae; (808) 882-7218; nps.gov/puhe/index.htm; Open daily 7:30 am to 5 p.m.