Keawepoepoe was the son and keiki aliûi (prince or child of a chief) of aliûi nui (great noble or king) Lonoikahaupu and aliûi nui wahine (great noblewoman or queen) Kalanikauleleiaiwi who became father of the royal twins, Kamanawa and Kameûeiamoku. He was born sometime in the 1700s and was the youngest child of his mother, who was also the wife and half sister of Keaweûëkekahialiûiokamoku. His name means; "round Keawe". Due to his high rank from both parents as well as his father's status as a Kauaian Lono priest, Keawepoepoe was given the kapu o pahenakalani (the prostrating kapu). His lineage through his mother makes him a descendant of Haloa through Keakealanikane.
Lonoikahaupu, who had peacefully inherited the western side of Kauai as ruler, had embarked on a tour of the islands along with a huge entourage of double hulled canoes carrying musicians, dancers as well as the monarch's main navigator, priest, astrologer and an entire retinue of attendants. He may have visited Oahu, Molokai and Maui and then set off to visit the Island of Hawaii, which was ruled by Keaweûëkekahialiûiokamoku and his half sister Kalanikauleleiaiwi. Lonoikahaupu was entertained with festivities and amusements for weeks by the royal couple of Hawaii Island. During this period Kalanikauleleiaiwi became captivated with the Kauaian ruler and took him as one of her recognized husbands. From this union Keawepoepoe was born. He was the youngest child and possibly his mother's favorite. As he grew he was considered a handsome young man who charmed many young women.
As the son of Kalanikauleleiaiwi and Lonoikahaupu, monarch's of several kingdoms between them, Keawepoepoe was an aliûi (noble) of Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kauai. As well being the aliûi nui (great king or supreme monarch) Lonoikahaupu was a kahuna (priest) of the order of Lono (order of Nahulu or Holoa'e), one of two priestly orders, Kà « (Kuali'i or Kauali'i) being the other. Through this union Keawepoepoe received the kapu o pahenakalani (the prostrating kapu) which is how the Hawaii aliûi received the kapu (a religious code of conduct) called the kapu moe. In the Hawaiian language Keawepoepoe translates as; "round Keawe".
Keawepoepoe, Alapainui and Kauaua a Mahi were all descendants of Luahine (k), who was the youngest of three brothers including Palena and Paia, all of whom were of the same mother and father. The three brothers had saved the life of Kuaana when Keakealaniwahine ordered his death by drowning. The brothers persuaded the monarch to set him adrift on a raft rather than having him put to death. Once the raft had drifted out of the site of land, the three brothers aided Kuaana to a safe landing on Maui. The Luahine descendants connect to the lineage of Haloa through Keakealanikane.
Keawepoepoe was the father of Keeaumoku PÃÂpaiahiahi, the royal Twins, Kamanawa and Kameûeiamoku as well as Alapai Maloiki and Kaulunae. The first thee three brothers, along with Keawe-a-Heulu were the principle warriors that assisted Kamehameha I conquer all but the island of Kauai. Keeaumoku's mother was Kà «maûaikà «, who was also the mother of Alapai Maloiki and Kaulunae. Abraham Fornander mentions Keeaumoku as the son of Keawepoepoe several times. In; "The Polynesian Race Volume II" on page 132 Fornander states all three, Keeaumoku, Kamanawa and Kameûeiamoku are the sons of Keawepoepoe however, on page 154 he also states that Kamanawa and Kameûeiamoku were the "tabbooed twin children of Kekaulike (King of Maui)". While there are legends that refer to Kamanawa and Kameûeiamoku as the children of Kekaulike, Fornander stated that all the genealogies he had seen have Keawepoepoe as their father and Kanoena, daughter of Lonoanahulu (k) of the Ehu family. According to Almira Hollander Pitman in her 1931 publication; "After fifty years: an appreciation, and a record of a unique incident", Pitman states that Kanoena was Keawepoepoe's cousin.
His grandchildren include UlumÃÂheihei Hoapili who was the father of Kuini Liliha. Hoapili was the son of Kameûeiamoku making him cousins to Kaûahumanu and her brothers and sisters, KalÃÂkua KaheiheimÃÂlie, Kahekili Keûeaumoku II, Kuakini, and Namahana Piûia, the children of Keeaumoku PÃÂpaiahiahi. Through Kamanawa, Keawepoepoe had another granddaughter by the name of Peleuli. She became a wife of Kamehameha I shortly before the monarch took her cousin Kaûahumanu as another wahine (wife).
Keawepoepoe's descendants include the families of Liliha, Hoolulu, Kinimaka, Piianaia, Keeaumoku II and the House of KawÃÂnanakoa. He is a direct ancestor of King William Charles Lunalilo through his mother KekÃÂuluohi, as well as both King David KalÃÂkaua and Queen Liliûuokalani through their father Caesar Kapaûakea. The lands known as "Kapalilua" in Kona, Hawaii were passed from Umi-a-Liloa to his daughter Napunanahunui in perpetuity and remained in the hands of her descendants throughout the rest of Hawaiian history until the time of Kamehameha The great when they had then passed to Keeaumoku PÃÂpaiahiahi from his mother Kà «maûaikà « and her family which included Iwakaualii and Iama, going back eight generations.