As you work you way back to the Visitor Center you walk past the the royal fishpond. Fish caught exclusively for the chiefs were placed in this pond.
I would recommend that you allow an hour or two to explore this historic site.
You may ask what happened to this place? Why was it abandoned? As outlined in the Park Service guide, "In 1819 Kamehameha II defied the kapu and abolished that system of religion, and all the heiau and the puʻuhonua they protected ceased to function. The people were confused and uncertain about their future; and gone was the balance between life-loving people and the power and vengeance of gods who could take life away. Changes came quickly. People and ideas from outside this island world altered forever the old way of life."
Additional Resources
For more detailed information about Puʻuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, we recommend the following extended article from the National Park Service:
A Cultural History of Three Traditional Hawaiian Sites on the West Coast of Hawaiʻi Island
