[2] Although even before the fun arrival from Waigeo, there were already rulers in Salawati with the title of rejao or jaja which meant "landlord" in Ma'ya language.

As mentioned the king of Salawati descended from rulers from Waigeo, whose ancestor Gurabesi had a tributary relationship with Tidore Sultanate.

King of Salawati being one of the strongest in the Raja Ampat archipelago was also trusted to collect tributes as leader of Hongi expeditions on behalf of Sultan of Tidore on northern Papua as far as Cendrawasih Bay as noted in 1705.

In 1653, Salawati and Waigeo raided Tanah Hitu Kingdom, on the northern coast of Ambon, for gold and slaves with an expedition consisted of 15 ships.

After hearing the story, some of them were angry and wanted to attack the King of Salawati because they thought he considered them dirty, and so had to clean their former beds with water, but others were intrigued and instead sought to learn his practices.

In tanah besar, the power of the Kingdom of Salawati covered the area Asbaken, Makbon in the west to the coast of Katimin located south of Sorong.