During the ancient Hawaiian days, fishponds were very important to the Hawaiian culture. The Hawaiian people believed that if they took great care of the pond, it would in turn take care of them by providing them with a lot of fish. Working to care for the fishpond demonstrated how the Hawaiians were able to be in harmony with nature. The fishponds were also important to the ancient Hawaiians because they served as refrigerators where the fish could be stored.

The formation of Kaelepulu Pond began 3,000,000 years ago. Back then, the Koolau volcano (one of the island's two mountain ranges) rose above the Pacific Ocean. The ocean side of the mountain range eroded, submerged and formed Kaelepulu Pond. Taro or kalo patches could be found between the pond and the nearby stream. The ancient Hawaiians always saw to it that the pond was kept clean. Fat fish such as the mullet, awa, aholehole, and 'o'opu were found in abundance in Kaelepulu Pond. There were also large amounts of limu kala wai (seaweed). Small fish were put into the pond and when they grew big, they were caught. Most of the fishponds had makaha (gates) which allowed large fish to enter the pond from the sea during high tide.