After King Kalaniōpuu died in the spring of 1782, his family took his remains to the royal mausoleum known as "Hale o Keawe" at the important religious temple Puuhonua o Hōnaunau. While Kalaniōpuu's son Kīwalaō had inherited the kingdom, his nephew Kamehameha was given a religious position, as well as the district of Waipio valley. When a group of chiefs from the Kona district, including his brothers and uncles, Keaweaheulu, twins Kamanawa and Kameeiamoku, and Keeaumoku Pāpaiaheahe, offered to back Kamehameha instead of Kiwalao, he accepted eagerly, traveling back from his residence in Kohala.