Pirongia was sited where it is because of its proximity to the Aukati (the confiscation line along the Puniu River) and because in those days this was as far up the Waipa River that river steamers, supplying the new frontier settlements, could safely travel.
Among the variety of plants and wildlife, Wood Rose or Dactylanthus taylorii, a rare and endangered parasitic flowering plant, can be found on the ridges of Mount Pirongia.