Waitangi has been listed as the country's first wahi tupuna by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.
Kaihatu Te Kenehi Teira, of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, said a wahi tupuna is a place important to Maori for ancestral significance and cultural and traditional values.
"Although Waitangi has clear cultural and historical significance for all New Zealanders, it is also a place of strong traditional associations with many tupuna significant to Maori - and Ngapuhi in particular," Mr Teira said.
Wahi tupuna is a new classification, and differs from wahi tapu, because the places don't necessarily adhere to the sacredness to Maori as wahi tapu.
Mr Teira said Waitangi has always been a place where inter-hapu relationships and alliances for the benefit of all Maori were discussed, as well as the birth of the bicultural New Zealand.Parallel to this runs a stream of Maori history, tradition and culture - shaped by the lives, actions and decisions of many tupuna - that spans many generations.