The municipality is also host to the gold-rich barangay of Mount Diwata, popularly known as "Diwalwal" (which in the local dialect means one's tongue is hanging out due to exhaustion), a 1,000-meter high range known for its rich gold ore deposit.

The Municipality of Monkayo is a political unit with a land area that was once and for a long period of time a wilderness in the Northern hinterlands of Davao de Oro.

The name “Monkayo” is derived from a gigantic tree towering on top Tandawan mountains and its northern tip in between and immediately adjacent to the Agusan River.

It was occupied by Lumad groups such as the Mandaya, Manobo, Mansaka, Manguangan and Dibabawon people who dwelt on primitive life and lived by hunting, fishing and crude method of farming (Kaingin) long before the Spanish conquistadors penetrated deep in Mindanao in the middle part of the 19th century.

After the EDSA Revolution, Mayor Anastacio Basañes was succeeded by Constantino Alcaraz (April 1986 – 1992) as Officer In-Charge by virtue of the Freedom Constitution implemented under President Corazon Aquino.

In September 1983, gold was discovered by a Lumad named Camilo Banad at Mount Diwata in the town's mountainous eastern portion.

[8] The discovery of such massive gold deposits triggered a massive gold rush of unprecedented scale by people from all over the Philippines into the mountain, that at one point the mining community at the mountain's slopes became home to some 100,000[9] to 130,000[10] inhabitants and prospectors by the late 1980's, making Monkayo one of the largest towns in Davao Region during this time.

[11] The unorganized gold rush resulted in deaths of miners from mercury and lead poisoning, accidents and mine collapses, as well as killings from various groups including Lumad tribal militias, Communist rebels, segments of the Moro National Liberation Front, other paramilitary groups, mercenaries at the hire of giant corporations vying for the control of the numerous mines in the area, and government forces including the Army, police and the Constabulary trying to maintain or restore order.

[12] To prevent further incidents from happening as well as to regulate the otherwise unregulated mining in the area, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Proclamation No.

Dejeto himself would be shot and killed shortly after by three unknown men according to Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Chief Eduardo Matillano.

It is in these celebrations wherein songs, dances and other forms of arts and merrymaking from various cultures have evolved creatively into the sights and sounds of Monkayo now.