Ngāti Whātua's territory or "rohe" is traditionally expressed as, ""Tāmaki ki Maunganui i te Tai Hauauru"" and ""Tāmaki ki Manaia i te Rawhiti"". The northern boundary is expressed as, ""Manaia titiro ki Whatitiri, Whatitiri titiro ki Tutamoe, Tutamoe titiro ki Maunganui"". The southern boundary is expressed as, ""Te awa o Tāmaki"". The area runs from Tāmaki River in the south to Maunganui Bluff (at the northern end of Aranga Beach on the west coast) in the north, and to Whangarei Harbour on the east coast. By the time of European settlement in New Zealand, Ngāti Whātua's territory was around the Kaipara Harbour and stretching south to , the site of present-day Auckland.