“ meaning high place , according to Cristobal Machado of Culver City , whose memory of La Ballona Valley goes back to Indian days . It was against these cliffs that the Indians built their brush - and - mud huts . From them the brown skinned men went forth to gather clams and shell fish at the beach beyond the lagoon , to hunt small game in the marshes and to find edible berries , seeds and insects in the river growth and on hillside shrubs...The work of the ranch was done by the local Indians , one group of whom had their huts among the sycamores not far from Augustin's home , another group having their village against the cliffs beneath the