Architecture
Heiau were made in different shapes depending upon their purpose. A heiau could have been in many different forms, such as simple stone markers to large stone platforms, both parts of human sacrificial temples. They could be rectangular, square, or rounded. Some consisted of simple earth terraces, while others were elaborately constructed stone platforms. They could be placed on hills, cliffs, level earth, valleys and on the coastline touching the sea. Some koʻa or fishing shrines were built underwater. Heiaus of the people varied in size. Large heiaus were built by prominent people while small heiaus were built by the humble.
American missionary Hiram Bingham described a heiau he saw on route hiking between the summits of Mauna Kea and Hualalai. Made of piled lava rock, it was a square of 100 feet (30 m), with walls eight feet high and four feet thick. A doorway led through the middle of the north wall. Eight pyramids surrounded the outside of the temple. Made of piled lava rock, they were 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter and 12 to 15 feet (4.6 m) high.
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