In 1897, this area included Waikīkī’s largest fishpond, Ka‘ihikapu, which measured 13 acres, and all of today’s Fort DeRussy on the mauka side of the road was covered with fishponds; in fact, Waikīkī had hundreds of them. The chiefs controlled the fishponds, while commoners maintained them. The ponds raised mostly ‘ama‘ama, or mullet, and awa, or milkfish, both of which adapted well to brackish water, and when the ponds were well cared for, the fish fattened quickly. These ponds served as “royal iceboxes,” providing readily available food for guests, especially unexpected ones. Ancient Hawaiians believed fishponds were inhabited by mo‘o deities, sometimes described as creatures with terrifying black bodies twelve to thirty feet long, who guarded the ponds, protected caretakers, and punished those who abused their responsibilities. Waikīkī’s reclamation began here in Kãlia when the U.S. military acquired 72 acres in 1908 and began draining the land to build Fort DeRussy, using more than 250,000 cubic yards of sand and coral dredged from various O‘ahu areas over the course of a year to cover Ka‘ihikapua and its sister ponds in Kãlia. The Hale Koa Hotel is used exclusively for U.S. military personnel and their dependents.