It is one of the few remaining intact examples of a large luakini heiau (state level temple where human and other ritual sacrifice was performed).

[3] Once the center of an important cultural complex, oral tradition attributes the construction of the temple at about 1730 AD to Kekaulike, King of Maui, who lived at Kaupo and died in 1736.

The eastern end of the platform is believed to be where the ceremonial functions took place, and has terraced retaining walls as high as 20 feet (6.1 m).

In particular, the site's features and known oral history suggest that it includes multiple phases in the evolution of Hawaiian religious practices prior to the arrival of outsiders.

When Kamehameha I united the island chain into a single kingdom in the early 19th century, the importance of Kaupo as a civic and ceremonial center declined.