Panhe facts for kids

Panhe was one of the largest Acjachemen villages, and is over 8,000 years old and a current sacred, ceremonial, cultural, and burial site for the Acjachemen people. The site of Panhe, is now within San Onofre State Beach, San Diego County, California, located at the confluence of San Mateo Creek and Cristianitos Canyon, approximately 3.7 miles (6.0 km) upstream from the Pacific Ocean. The Acjachemen people fished in San Mateo Creek's extensive freshwater marshes, and practiced a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The village of Panhe is estimated to have had a population of 300 or so before the first Spanish explorers came to the area, and is still a sacred site for the Acjachemen people.

Panhe was nearly destroyed by a planned toll road construction that was meant to connect to the 5, but this was stopped by a coalition of Acjachemen people, environmentalists, and surfer groups.

Panhe is the site of the first baptism in California, and in 1769 saw the first close contact between Spanish explorers, Catholic missionaries, and the Acjachemen people.

There is a yearly festival held at the site by the Acjachemen people to honor their ancestors and to partake in their culture together.

The United Coalition to Protect Panhe and The City Project advocate for the preservation of the site.