It is notable as the historic site of Popoia pā, and as the setting for several novels and short stories of Witi Ihimaera.
It is said that the aristocratic lines of descent from Paoa and Kiwa of the Horouta waka converged upon him and his rule was undisputed.
With the emergence of these tribes, like Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata and Ngāi Tāmanuhiri — Ruapani's influence began to wane and he retreated inland to the home of his relations in the Lake Waikaremoana area, where he lived out his days.
The fictional Waituhi's ‘physical cohesion [providing] an "objective correlative" to the ethos that binds the tangata whenua together’.
Waituhi – The Life of the Village was an opera with music from Ross Harris; libretto by Witi Ihimaera.
This four-act opera is based on the novel Whanau and is the story of the writer's life in an East Coast (New Zealand) village.