This well-restored religious site was the personal heiau of King Kamehemeha the Great. The heiau was dedicated to the god, Lono. Several tall ki'i akua (statues of god) adorn the area. A bird depicted on the tallest statue is the golden plover. This bird is was said to have lead the ancient Polynesians to Hawaii. King Kamehameha worshipped at this site from 1813 until his death in 1819.

Ku'emanu Heiau is believed to have been devoted to surfing. It was used to pray for good surfing conditions and to observe surfers offshore. It stands opposite of an excellent surfing break, which is popular up until today.

Mookini Luakini Heiau is one of the oldest and most significant in all of Hawaii. The heiau was designated as Hawaii's first registered National Historic Landmark in 1963. It was built around AD 480. A Tahitian high priest arrived and brought order and structure to the community. This order came with a new tradition: human sacrifice. When there were no sacrifices, the priests allegedly used the temple to communicate with the gods and their long-dead ancestors.

Lapakahi State Historical Park is a large area of ruins from an Ancient Hawaiian fishing village in the North Kohala District on the Big Island of Hawai'i. Off shore is the Lapakahi Marine Life Conservation District. The name lapa kahi means "single ridge" in the Hawaiian Language, and applied to the ahupua'a, an ancient land division that ran from the sea up to Kohala Mountain. It is state archaeological site and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 2, 1973.

The Puako petroglyph district offers the visitor the largest gathering of petroglyphs in Hawaii and arguably, the whole Pacific. Roughly 3,000 such carvings can be found on the series of smooth volcanic dome rocks that are found in the area around Puako. Their broad flat surfaces made them ideal for the carving of petroglyph images. But the ideal surface of the rocks alone cannot explain their presence. Scholars agree that this particular site most certainly held spiritual significance to the ancient Hawaiians (other lava dome rocks on the island are untouched).

Ahu A 'Umi Heiau means "shrine at the temple of 'Umi" in the Hawaiian Language. It was built for 'Umi-a-Liloa, often called 'Umi, who ruled the island of Hawai'i early in the 16th century. Ahu A 'Umi Heiau was also the place where the great chief Keawe Nui a 'Umi (the son of 'Umi) hid to escape death from a strong ali'i, Kalepuni, who attempted to take over Keawe Nui a 'Umi’s rule. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 13, 1974.

Kauikeaouli was born at Keauhou Bay, on Hawai'i island, the largest island in the Hawaiian Islands archipelago. He was the second son of King Kamehameha I and his highest ranking wife, Queen Keōpūolani of Maui. The precise date is not known. He was promised to Kuakini in hānai, but at birth he appeared to be delivered stillborn, Kuakini did not wish to take him. But Chief Kaikio'ewa summoned his kaula (prophet) Kapihe who declared the baby would live. Kauikeaouli was cleansed, laid on a rock, fanned, prayed over and sprinkled with water until he breathed, moved and cried. The prayer of Kapihe was to Ka'ōnohiokalā, "Child of God". The rock is preserved as a monument at Keauhou Bay.

The clock is located on Kamehameha Avenue in front of the Naniloa Golf Course. Hilo was hit by tsunamis twice in the past century. The first time was on April 1, 1946. On May 23, 1960, another tsunami (this time generated by an earthquake off of Chile), again hit Hilo. The clock (which stood in the city at that time) was hit by the 1960 tsunami and since then stands with its hands frozen in time – 1:04 a.m. Townspeople refurbished it, but decided against restoring it to working order in honor of those who perished in the tidal waves.

One of the best, and largest petroglyph fields on the Big Island is the Panau-nui Pu'u Loa petroglyph field in the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. This particular field consists of over 15,000 individual petroglyph images that have been scratched and pecked into the hard pahoehoe surface.

David Douglas (25 June 1799 – 12 July 1834) was a Scottish botanist. He worked as a gardener, and explored the Scottish Highlands, North America, and Hawaii, where he died. A monument was built at the spot where Douglas died by members of the Hilo Burns Society including David McHattie Forbes. It is called Ka lua kauka ("Doctor's Pit" in the Hawaiian language), off Mānā Road on the Island of Hawai'i

The Palace was built and opened in 1925 at the peak of the heyday for American movie palaces. It was originally part of a small family of theaters owned and operated by Adam C. Baker, a dashing Hawaiian gentleman who was the nephew of the last royal governors of the island of Hawai‘i. Adam Baker had been involved in the theater business since the early 1900s and was a well-known showman in Hawaii. The Palace was built on a scale that had never been seen outside of the capital city of Honolulu, and it was always the grandest theater on all the neighbor islands.

The theater in Kainaliu, Hawaii County, Hawaii was originally called the Tanimoto after the family who operated it, when it opened in 1832. It showed both American and Japanese films. It is now the home of the Aloha Theater Cafe, and the Aloha Performing Arts company.