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The Shitthaung temple is the most spectacular of King's Mong Bong's massive temples in Mrauk-U. It is located on the west levelled side of Pokhaung Hill, about a half mile north of the palace site.

The first terrace is 40 ft high and its walls are built with stone blocks. On the first terrace, one can enjoy the Sunrise and Sunset temples in their miniature sizes. It is said that these two signify the power of the donor-builder of the temple, King Mong Bong, in the sense that the sun never sets in his territory. After rounding off the number of holy relics, the shrine in time came to be called the temple of Eighty Thousand Images built by King Mong Bong in 1536 using 1000 artisans.

About 90 ft north of the Shitthaung Temple stands Anndaw Thein or Temple of the Holy Molar Relic. The temple has an octagonal design. The main stupa, about forty feet high, surrounded by eight smaller ones, is on the upper platform. King Mong Raza Gree rebuilt it in 1596 encasing the original pagoda built by Mong Hla Raza in 1521. For having encased Buddha molar relic, brought from Sri Lanka by King Mong Ba Gree, the temple is known as Anndaw Thein.

The donor-builder is King Mong Phaloung, who erected it in 1571. The reason was that the country was in the state of turmoil and governors and high officials were going to revolt against the king. The temple was built to prevent the fall of the old city by fulfilling a saying common at that time : when a house is worn, support it with a pole; when the city is worn, support its ceiling. The ordination hall is surmounted by a pagoda and surrounded by four smaller ones at each corner. The form of the pagoda is like that of the Shitthaung Temple.

It is a solid structure with four vaulted portal surmounted by a solid stupa. The vaulted passages protrude each cardinal point and lead to the octagonal inner chamber encircled by niches which one contained seated Buddha images. Being one of the temples that King Mong Saw Mon built as an auspicious measure for the new city in 1430, it carries the splendid artistry of earlier Rakhine architectural achievement.

The western entrance is flanked by two life-like kneeling ogres. The pagoda as well as the precincts are made of stone. Within the precincts there are small pagodas. Sakyamanaung Pagoda was built by King Thirithudhamma Raza in 1629.

King Mong Tikkha built it in 1553. It was built with the intention of paying tribute to the 84 000 (90 000 when rounded off) future Buddhas. Each of the three sides has terraces with a number of small pagodas built on each. The inner gallery under this structure has been rendered inaccessible now. At the center of the precincts there is an octagonal pagoda. This massive piece of architecture reminds one of Barabodur of Indonesia.

 The Palace Site

Founded by King Mong Saw Mon and the palace is surrounded by three wall encirclements. The walls were originally made of brick and King Mong Ba Gree reinforced the palace walls with a new structure in 1531. The height of the walls today averages 12 ft and thickness runs about 7 ft. Three sides of the palace are guarded with moats. The moats in the east and the west are manually made, whereas the southern one is a natural Thinghanadi creek. The northern side had buildings for the queens and also includes the strategically important Haridaung Hill.

The Golden Palace, where for 355 years Arankanese Kings defied any submission to intruders, once had roofs of five graduated series supported on tall, straight and giant pillars, gilted with gold on a coat of vermillion. The roof was plated with gilding sheets of copper that would reflect the crimson rays of the sun in the early morning. The palace was essentially a complex of separate buildings. The King and his attendants stayed in the palace proper whereas the queens, prince and princesses were assigned separate buildings within the palace city. Public housing was allocated in the eastern outside the boundary of the palace city for which the locality could be considered as the outer city.

There are about three hundred pieces of articles in the present-day archaeological museum. It consists of artifacts from every part of Rakhine State. It may well boast of ancient Buddha images, stone carvings, deva utensils, arms, stone inscriptions, coins and other.