The station is located alongside Kamehameha Highway near its intersection with Kuala Street and is the main arterial connection for Skyline riders from Central Oʻahu and the North Shore, including Waipio, Mililani, Wahiawa and Haleʻiwa.

[3][4] In Hawaiian, "waiawa" means "milkfish water" and is the name of the ahupuaʻa in which it is located, referring to the fact it housed multiple fishponds and comprises the largest watershed on Oʻahu.

However, because of the station's location over a stream, the garage and its connecting highway on- and off-ramps would have cost $330 million to build ($206,000 per stall), which was deemed excessive by the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) and indefinitely deferred.

[2] The station is within walking distance of a Sam’s Club store, Regal Cinemas, The Home Depot, Walmart, housed in the adjacent 411,000-square-foot Pearl Highlands Center.

Century Park Plaza, a 47-story condominium tower, is located west of the Pearl Highlands Center, and homes in the Manana housing complex are also nearby.