Banaoang is located on the northeastern corner of the town, just below the
defile of the mountain through which the Abra River flows. In Iloko, a defile or
opening of a mountain is called “Banawang”. The people considered the defile or
gap as the landmark of their purok and called it Banawang. To avoid confusion
with a similar word “Bannawag” meaning “dawn” and for euphony, Bannawag was
changed in due time to Banawang.
