Initially, most media reported that the site was discovered in 1998 by a Tiriyó man named Kamainja, who had lost his dog somewhere in the area.

In 2011, however, Surinamese newspaper de Ware Tijd reported that a Tiriyó man by the name of Mennio Moeshè had already discovered the site around 1990, when he was 27 years old.

With the assistance of Stichting Surinaams Museum, Conservation International subsequently set up a research project to investigate the site.

Archaeologists Aad Versteeg of the Stichting Surinaams Museum and Abelardo Sandoval of the Smithsonian Institution conducted field research at Werehpai in 2007, together with soil specialist Dirk Noordam.

The Iwana Samu lodge was created to generate funds for effective management of the Werehpai protected area.