Kings Canyon and the area around it is Aboriginal land. It is part of the Luritja people's traditional country, and title over the land was granted to them in July 2012. Before the arrival of Europeans in the region, the damp climate at the bottom of the gorge was an important refuge during droughts. Rock engravings at the base of the canyon date are many hundreds of years old. Many of them are sacred sites for Luritja and are closed to visitors. The name "Waṯarrka" refers to the area around the sacred Dreaming path that runs through the park; it comes from the Luritja name for the "Acacia ligulata" tree.