Eleven of the sites within the district are considered exceptionally significant to modern understanding of native Hawaiian culture and have been the focus of most archaeological research in the area.

Five of these sites are villages, at Poupou-Kauka, Kailiili, Kamoamoa, Laeʻapuki, Keahou Landing; these village sites provide insight into the agricultural and social practices of the Polynesians.

The Puna-Kāʻu coastal trail, another one of the significant sites, connected these villages and provided a link to communities in the mountains.

[2] The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 1, 1974.

This article about a property in Hawaii on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.