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 More than 200 years ago, runners swiftly carried the newborn Kamehameha along a coastal trail toward the mountain ridges of Kohala to protect him from enemies who feared prophecies that he would one day hold great power. The legends of his birth gave names to places along the runners route, Hawi, "place of famine," where the baby Kamehameha needed breast milk, and Kapaau, "the place where the blanket went swimming," where his kapa (bark cloth) bunting got wet as he was carried across a stream. The prophecies of Kamehameha's greatness came true when, in 1795, he conquered the islands and united them in peace.

In North Kohala, the coastal highway turns inward, winding through the small town of Hawi and then the slightly larger community of Kapaau. Not far beyond, the road ends at Polulu Valley. In the center of Kapaau, shops, restaurants, galleries, and businesses line one side of the road. On the other side, standing where it has since 1912, is the bronze statue of King Kamehameha.on a rise above the road.