Houegbadja followed his father Dakodonou to the throne and formed much of the administration and religious practices for the Kingdom of Dahomey.

Houegbadja plays a primary role in the ceremonies of the Kingdom of Dahomey and as such is often attributed with many administrative developments that he is unlikely to have solely created.

[1] However, various oral traditions hold that Houegbadja established the current Royal Palaces of Abomey, the general structure of the royal administration, poll taxes, death taxes, and made it so that the King's sacrifices to ancestors were primary within the kingdom.

[3] Houegbadja is often considered the first king of Dahomey because of the establishment of the palace and creation of many rules that defined the administration of the kingdom.

During the Annual Customs of Dahomey, a ceremony centered on tributes given to royal ancestors, Houegbadja was the first king recognized.