south waikato district council wrote:Mt Pohaturoa

Towering 240 metres over the river is Mt Pohaturoa (520m), which features prominently in both Arawa and Ngati Raukawa tradition. The rock, which served as a lookout post during inter-tribal conflicts, was the scene of many a prolonged siege. One such siege took place several centuries ago when invading Ngati Raukawa forced Ngati Kahupungapunga (possibly a surviving Moahunter tribe) to retreat to this, their final stronghold. Lack of food finally forced the defenders to abandon their refuge and only five escaped with their lives. The cause of the conflict is said to have been the murder of a Ngati Raukawa woman who had been given in marriage to a chief of Ngati Kahupungapunga.

Early paintings show the rock and its surrounds as almost completely devoid of cover. The pine trees date from 1927 and have been a source of controversy as an unwarranted intrusion upon the tapu (sanctity) of the rock. The rock overlooks a lake formed by the Atiamuri hydro-electric power station.