The Hienghène hen is an islet of black limestone rock of karst origin which, depending on the angle of observation, takes the form of a double towered building or a brooding hen. The first navigators therefore nicknamed it 'the towers of Notre-Dame' before it was renamed 'the hen of Hienghène'. The now peaceful bay on which the hen watches, has known a painful colonial past remembered by the name of the site, Hienghène, which means 'crying while walking' in the Fwai language.