The Nu'uanu Pali Lookout is the location of one of the most important battles in Hawaiian history.

It was here, in 1795, that Kamehameha I fought one of his fiercest fights to unite the islands. Kamehameha succeeded after his conquest pushed all enemies over the edge of the lookout point. When the Pali Road was constructed in 1897, the remains of 800 men—from the Batlle of Nuuanu—were found at the base of the Ko`olau Mountains