HKBs are essentially Rig Vedic Brahmins and are known to follow Dharmaśāstra extensively in their life.
The main reason is the name "Halenadu Karnataka" is of fairly recent in origin.
Sringeri Mutt records show Muguru Karnataka names from the 20th century onward.
So, many people conclude "Halenadu" signifies that HKBs are one of the first Brahmin communities to come into existence in Karnataka.
Some people identify the region to include northern part of Tamil Nadu which was ruled by Pandyas of Madurai in their peak period.
The other supporting argument in favour of this theory is that historically HKB occupied prominent positions in the court of kings and regional chieftains in South Karnataka.
HKB were backbone of the administration and occupied various official and quasi-judicial positions in the kingdom of these regional chieftains including Wodeyars of Mysore.
There is an incident which shows some light on the origin and elevation in the status MKBs in society in medieval period.
There was a scholar by the name of Jagannatha Acharya who was well versed in vedas and also believed to have intuitive powers.
The records in Sringeri Mutt and Mysore Gazetteer of British mention the name of HKBs only from the 18th or early 19th century onwards.
One special aspect about HKBs is that almost all of them pursue secular professions like teaching, accounting, law, engineering or medicine.
Though there are quite a few number of HKBs who are performing priestly activities, these are mainly to cater to the need of Vedic rituals within the community.