Kamakahonu!

What Is Kamakahonu?

This was the royal headquarters of Kamehameha I from 1813 until 1820!

What Makes It Historical?

After eight years on Oʻahu, Kamehameha I brought his family and seat of power back to the Big Island! Taking a liking to the cove called Kamakahonu (“turtle eye”), he requested it from the local aliʻi, who gifted the compound, and the ʻAhuʻena (“burning altar”) Heiau, to the king. Kamehameha I then set to work, adding 11 more structures to the space, expanding agriculture, and restoring the heiau in honor of the fertility god, Lono. He hoped that doing so would end a famine that had struck the Big Island!

Kamehameha I made a lot of changes here at Kamakahonu, but the biggest happened after he died on May 8, 1819. Six months later, his son, Liholiho (Kamehameha II), abolished kapu laws and ordered all heiau to be destroyed throughout the kingdom! Then, on April 4, 1820, the first Christian missionaries arrived at Kamakahonu, sealing the fate of the old Hawaiian religion! Kamehameha II moved the royal center to Lahaina on Maui, leaving the Big Island to a governor, John Adams Kuakini, who had refused to foster Kamehameha III when the baby royal appeared to be stillborn!

The ʻAhuʻena Heiau became a fort, and the main area of Kamakahonu was used for storage for decades. H. Hackfield & Company purchased the property in 1914, sold it to American Factors, Limited in 1918, and they kept it through the 1950s as a lumberyard. They did sponsor a reconstruction of ʻAhuʻena Heiau in 1975, however, to add authenticity to the nearby King Kamehameha Hotel!

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Become a member of the Hawaiian Historical Society!
Become a member of the Historic Hawaiʻi Foundation!
Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!

How Do I Get There?

75-5660 Palani Rd
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
(Take Me There!)

When Should I Visit?

Walk the grounds and view the heiau from afar whenever you like! Stop by the hotel’s front desk to see if they are offering tours of the heiau that day!