The large gold-tipped pyatthat at the eastern entrance of the Mandalay Royal Palace (fig.), opposite of the Mandalay Royal Monument (fig.), is perhaps the most impressing structure of the 413-hectare palace compound, which is surrounded by a 64 meter wide moat and 4 circa 8 meter high walls (fig.), each 2 kilometers long, with a total of 48 bastions and 12 gates. On the palace inner court is a 24 meter tall watch tower, of which a replica can be found in Bagan.

The watch tower, which is one of the few original palace buildings remaining today, has a winding staircase on the outside and is topped by a seven tiered pyatthat. During the Third Anglo-Burmese War, the British invaded and ransacked the palace, and captured the royal family.

They turned the compound into Fort Dufferin, named after the then viceroy of India. During WW II, the palace was turned into a supply depot by the Japanese Imperial Army and was subsequently bombed by Allied Forces.

The citadel burned down and only the Royal Mint, the Palace Watch Tower, and the Golden Palace Monastery (fig.) which had priory been relocated outside the palace compound, survived the war and a replica of the palace was rebuilt in the nineties.