HONOLULU -- The developer of a Hawaii Kai condominium is under investigation after construction crews bulldozed into an area housing ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs and a wetland.

The developer had agreed to preserve the area, but said its crews accidentally encroached into a buffer zone there.

Developers of the Hale Alii condominium project plan to build 133 units on land near the corner of Hawaii Kai Drive and Keahole Street.

The developer had agreed to keep this area housing petroglyphs and other cultural sites preserved, but several weeks ago, their crews' bulldozers moved in, covering some of the area and destroying an ancient rock wall of a heiau.

"They've taken apart what used to be walls and terraces," state Sen. Clayton Hee said.

Hee said it is hard to assess damage to the ancient petroglyphs because they've been covered up by the construction work.

"During prehistoric times, Hawaiians spent significant time here, no question," Hee said.

"We didn't actually damage anything that was significant," said Joe Brown, of Hale Alii Development.

Brown claimed his crews mistakenly encroached into a buffer zone around the preservation area. He said no petroglyphs were damaged.

"It may not be significant to them. That doesn't mean it's not significant to Hawaiian people," Hee said.

The construction crews also bulldozed into a wetland area, filling in some of the wetlands.

"This was all just flattened and shoved into the wetlands with no permits," said Cramer.

The state land department said it has serious concerns about violations in the preserve area. It said it is still assessing how much damage was done here and that could result in fines being imposed on the developer.

The developer's archaeologist said a miscommunication between construction crews and the developer led to the mistake and there was no fence cutting off the preserve area.

Meanwhile, Rep. Neil Abercrombie is raising questions about the state agency that's charged with ensuring that historic sites like the one in Hawaii Kai are preserved.

Abercrombie said the state Historic Preservation Division doesn't have enough staff and funding which has compromised its responsibilities.

He has asked the National Parks Service to speed up an evaluation of the agency's ability to comply with historic preservation requirements on a number of federal projects in Hawaii.