Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site

Puukohola Heiau was constructed in 1790-1791 by order of Kamehameha I (or Kamehameha the Great) when his Hawaiian army and subjects invaded and conquered the Big Island and subsequently set up the kingdom of Hawaii, uniting all the islands. The temple was constructed to garner the favor of the Hawaiian war god Kuka'ilimoku. It was used as a site to sacrifice one of the local chiefs whom Kamehameha had come to conquer (NPS, 2002).