Ha'amonga 'a Maui, Stone trilithon in Niutōua, Tongatapu, Tonga.

Ha'amonga 'a Maui is a trilithon of three coral limestone slabs: two uprights about 5.2 m high, each weighing roughly 30–40 tons, and a lintel 5.8 m long. Deep mortises cut into the tops of the uprights hold the lintel with a gap of about 5 cm. The porous coral limestone cannot be polished, yet the surfaces are flat and the corners square.

Oral tradition credits the eleventh Tuʻi Tonga, Tuʻitātui, with building the trilithon around 1200 as a gateway to Heketā, his royal compound. The two uprights stand for his sons Lafa and Talaihaʻapepe, the lintel for their bond. The site became a national park in 1972 and was proposed for UNESCO World Heritage listing on 9 August 2007.

The name means 'Burden of Maui' in Tongan, linking the structure to Polynesian mythology. The site demonstrates how ancient Pacific peoples understood their relationship with the ocean and the spiritual forces they believed shaped their world.

The site is open daily for visitors and sits close to other attractions like the 'esi maka faakinanga stone throne, which are within walking distance. The open-air location means you can visit at any time of day, making it easy to combine your trip with nearby landmarks.

The two upright stones feature deep notches carved into their upper ends, specially designed to hold the massive lintel firmly in place. This engineering solution reveals how ancient craftsmen secured heavy loads without modern tools, allowing the structure to endure for centuries.