Recognition of their importance by both Māori and Pākehā led to the registration of two redoubts and a rifle pit at Te Pōrere, southwest of Tūrangi, as a Category 1 Historic Place in 2006. The site had been under the care of Heritage New Zealand (formerly the Historic Places Trust) since May 1959 and was the first property in the trust's portfolio. The fortification had been built by prophet and war leader Te Kooti and was the site of an engagement between his forces and government troops in 1869, during the final phase of the New Zealand wars. Reasons for its designation as a Category 1 site included its reflection of a key aspect of New Zealand history, its association with important events and persons, its potential to provide knowledge about New Zealand history, its significance to tangata whenua, its community associations, its prospects as a place for public education, its technical and design interest, its symbolic and commemorative value, and its place within a wider historical and cultural landscape.