The origins of the stones are uncertain. A local legend from
Viti Levu has that Vanua and Viti were once one island. Currently, the two islands are 30 miles apart, with deep water in-between. Supposedly this island had a written language. After the island split apart, the men of Viti Levu tried to carry records of the language to the other half, now Vanua Levu, by loading monoliths with carved symbols into canoes. The canoes sank before reaching Vanua Levu, but were bound for a spot near Nadakunimba. The Fahnestock brothers searched there and found one monolith, which fit the descriptions in the legend. It had been set originally on the side of a hill, but had fallen back against the hill and broken into several fragments. One of these the Fahnestocks estimated to have weighed 40 tons. Other legends by the local Mabuco people refer to the stones as the "Vatu Vola", and say it was transported on the Rogovoka on its last voyage from
Verata. The ship had also transferred sacred rocks to the king of
Tonga before coming to Fiji. This legend says the monolith was originally a statue but crumbled from years of exposure. After the Vatu Vola was erected, the ship was sunk so that the ship, which reached from Nadakunimba to Vunisavisavi Village, could not be used to find the Vatu Vola. Other petroglyphs (ivakatakilakila or signs of Lewaqoroqoro) in the Sawa-i-Lau caves off
Yasawa island are supposed to be similar. Another site named Vatu Vola has also been identified at
Moturiki, although the carvings are different. == Identification attempts ==