The 1782 Battle of Mokuʻōhai gave Kamehameha I control of the west and north sides of the island of Hawaiʻi, but Keōua Kuahuʻula and his uncle Keawemauhili were able to escape.

Kamehameha returned from Maui to the Big Island, and Keōua ambushed them in a thick forest of Paʻauhau, but the battle was inconclusive (near coordinates 20°3′45″N 155°26′59″W / 20.06250°N 155.44972°W / 20.06250; -155.44972 (Paauhau)).

As the volcano started to erupt, they thought they might have made some offense, so he split his group into three and stayed to make more offerings.

A large number of habitation sites and trails were counted, indicating the area was in use for hundreds of years during the eruption cycle of 1500 to 1790.

They were probably already in the area chipping off sharp chunks of glass to use as tools, and left the footprints while escaping during a lull in the eruption.

The fine ash was probably made into thick mud by a rain triggered in the eruption, which then quickly solidified in the tropical sun and was preserved in the arid desert.

The footprints were found accidentally by geologist Ruy H. Finch in the hardened ash of the Kaʻū Desert while he was trying to investigate a 1919 eruption that produced Mauna Iki (small mountain).

[6] On June 20, 1938, the Federal Government bought the land to add to the park, with the bombing range limited to four and a half square miles.

[1] Access to the area is via 9.1 miles (14.6 km) southwest of the park headquarters on the Hawaii Belt Road, State Highway 11.