A settler, named Miguel ?Totoy Yadawon? Candido, from Guiuan, Samar, founded Hernani around the year 1850. Formerly called Nag-as (derived from the name of the river located southeast of the town proper), the settlement is in a flat coastal terrain facing the vast Pacific Ocean. The diligence and determination of the early settlers propelled the rapid growth of NAG-AS. For a short period of time, tracks of cultivated lands planted to varied agriculture crops thrive in the verdant plains of the infant settlement. Its stable economic base is complemented by the abundance of domesticated animals and aquamarine resources.