New Zealand Archaeological Association Site Record Number Z17/184 is a pit site that forms part of the dense archaeological landscape of the Tolaga Bay (Uawa) area. It is located on Iwinui Station, to the east of the Tolaga Bay township. Pit sites and the many other recorded archaeological sites including pa, midden, gardens and urupa reflect the intensive Maori occupation of the Tolaga Bay from the time of initial Polynesian settlement approximately 700 years ago. Access to abundant food resources from the sea, rivers, inland forests and horticultural production (kumara) meant that a large population could be sustained. It has been estimated that the early Maori population of Tolaga Bay totalled approximately 1200; and the main iwi was Te Aitanga a Hauiti.

Pit and pit/ terrace sites are very common in Tolaga Bay, and demonstrate the importance of horticulture to Tolaga Bay's earliest inhabitants. The Bay's fertile soils and temperate climate were well suited to kumara gardening, and the pits were used for storing harvested kumara over the winter months. Rectangular storage pits (which were once roofed with a layer of earth), are more prevalent than the underground storage pits found elsewhere in New Zealand, a pattern attributed to the harder substrate of the soil in this area. They are in fact the most common archaeological site type in Tolaga Bay, and are found along the river banks and on the rolling hills to the south of the Bay. They are generally located in clusters on knolls or terraces, or on ridge crests, in lines from end to end

Pit site Z17/210 is located on a low ridgeline running parallel to the west side of Tauwhareparae Road, approximately 1.7 kilometres north of the bridge over the Waimanu Stream. A power line runs along the eastern edge of the ridgeline. The pa known as Hikatu (New Zealand Archaeological Association Site Record Form Z17/221) is located opposite, on the eastern side of Tauwhareparae Road, and there are a number of other archaeological sites in the vicinity. The pits are currently in well-grazed pasture.

This site was first recorded by archaeologist Karl Gillies in 1982, presumably as part of the archaeological survey work undertaken by archaeologist Kevin Jones in the Whangara, Tolaga Bay and Uawa Catchment areas in 1982-1983. This survey work was undertaken to gain information about the nature of prehistoric settlement in this locality, and also to evaluate specific sites for registration under the Historic Places Act 1980. Gillies recorded a total of nine pits on three of the four rises along the ridgeline, all rectangular in shape with slightly raised rims. The pits averaged about 6-8 metres x 3 metres x 1 metre (depth).

Pit site Z17/210 was revisited by archaeologist Vanessa Tanner in 2000 as part of the New Zealand Archaeological Association Site Recording Scheme Upgrade Project. Tanner found the pits to be as illustrated on the original 1982 Site Record Form and in average condition overall due to stock damage. No major changes to the site were observed during a New Zealand Historic Places Trust site visit in November 2007. All the pits were still clearly visible.

Z17/210 is one of numerous pit and pit/terrace sites recorded in the Tolaga Bay area, and is part of a dense archaeological and cultural landscape that is of considerable significance to Te Aitanga a Hauiti. This landscape reflects the intensive Maori occupation and settlement of the Tolaga Bay area since the 14th - 15th centuries AD, and the important role that horticulture played in this.