[2] The hill is an ancestral site of the Ngāti Oneone hapū (sub-tribe) in Gisborne.
It is at the base of this hill that Captain James Cook came ashore, after first sighting New Zealand in October 1769.
The 33 ha Titirangi Reserve is a tourist attraction; the hill has a Cook monument, a pōhutukawa tree planted by Diana, Princess of Wales, the James Cook Observatory, a fitness course, a park, and four lookouts over Gisborne city and Poverty Bay.
Other features include a World War II gun emplacement, a summit track and nature trails.
[2] At the base of the hill is the marae Te Poho-o-Rawiri, the home of Ngāti Oneone, which was built by Master-carver, Pine Taiapa.