[3] The harbour is a narrow valley from the confluence of the Awaroa and Rotokakahi Rivers through hills to the Tasman Sea.

[3] The Herekino Harbour and settlement are a few kilometres to the north, and the Hokianga is to the south and east.

The Ngāti Ruānui stacked brushwood about the pa, and set them alight before fleeing across the harbour on rafts, hidden by the clouds of smoke produced.

[6][7] Edward Wakefield described the harbour in 1837, and estimated the local Māori population as "not fewer than one thousand souls".

[14] In October 2020, the Government committed $90,424 to upgrade both it and Te Maata Marae, creating 12 jobs.

[16] The SA1 statistical area on the north side of the harbour, which includes Whangape, covers 56.45 km2 (21.80 sq mi).

[20] Te Kura ā Iwi o Pawarenga is a coeducational full primary school serving years 1-8.

It is a state kura-a-iwi designated character school, which teaches primarily in the Māori language.

[26] Te Kura o Hata Maria o Pawarenga was a Catholic primary school, founded in 1927.

[27] It subsequently became state-integrated, but closed in 2020 and was replaced by Te Kura ā Iwi o Pawarenga.