Although in ancient times this arid area of lava rock was called kekaha ʻaʻole wai (lands without water), the abundant sea life attracted settlement for hundreds of years.

Kaloko (meaning "the pond" in the Hawaiian language)[4] is a site of fishponds used in ancient Hawaii is on the North end of the park.

This area can be reached via trails from the park visitor center, or from the small boat harbor access road on Kealakehe Parkway.

The ʻAiʻopio Fishtrap is a 1.7-acre (0.69 ha) pond, with a stone wall forming an artificial enclosure along the naturally curved shoreline of a bay.

Small openings allowed young fish to enter from the sea, but as they grew larger (or at low tide) they were easily caught with nets inside the trap as needed.