In 1912, the pioneering Ilocanos started arriving with their families, relatives and friends. The Ilocanos settled away from the river but the Kalingas considered it an intrusion which later led to the encounters where the Ilocanos used piles of stones to drive away the ferocious Kalingas. The act of throwing stones was called “ambatuan” which later evolved to “cabatuan”. The warring groups eventually became friends through a peace pact led by their respective leaders and the place became known as Cabatuan.