The word
ewa means "stray" in Hawaiian. The name comes from the myth that the gods
Kāne and
Kanaloa threw a stone to determine the boundaries, but it was lost and later found at Pili o Kahe. Hawaiian settlement on the Ewa Plain dates back at least to the 12th century C.E., at which time
kanaka maoli expanded the main channel of Puuloa (
Pearl Harbor) before creating fishponds and terraced agricultural fields in the surrounding area. Scholars have recognized Ewa's ancient fishponds as exemplary evidence of Native Hawaiian ingenuity. Before Ewa Beach became a town, it was first a huge
sugar plantation. With of land sublet by
Benjamin Dillingham, W.R. Lowrie became the first plantation manager in 1891, when Hawaiʻi was under the rule of Queen
Liliʻuokalani. Ewa Beach is significant for its association with Ewa Sugar Plantation. Throughout the twentieth century, it played a very influential role in Hawaii's culture, economy, and politics. Along much of the South Shore of
Oahu, Ewa is a reference to the direction of Ewa Beach, roughly westwards along the shore. Related terms are "mauka" (towards the mountains, roughly northwards), "makai" (towards the ocean, roughly south), and Diamond Head or Koko Head, roughly eastwards along the shore. == Geography ==