Naniwa Palace, Ancient palace ruins in Chūō-ku, Japan

Naniwa Palace is a historic site in Chūō-ku, Japan, where excavated remains reveal the stone foundations of multiple pavilions and administrative buildings once linked by gravel pathways. The site includes rectangular stone platforms that once supported wooden pillars holding up roofs, along with drainage channels that regulated water flow.

Emperor Kōtoku moved the seat of government here in 645, creating Japan's first permanent capital modeled on Chinese designs. Fire destroyed the first complex in 686, after which Emperor Shōmu built a second palace over the ruins in the early eighth century.

The site is now Naniwa-no-Miya Park, and since 2004 it has hosted the main venue of the Shitennō-ji Wasso festival each November, when participants in period dress parade through the grounds. The name Naniwa is preserved in the ward and street names around the park. Excavated roof tiles and a shibi ornament are held as Osaka city cultural properties.

The ruins sit on a raised plateau and are fully accessible on foot, with paved paths running between the foundations. An adjacent museum offers access to underground storage rooms and displays objects from the excavations, adding context to the outdoor walk.

Archaeologists discovered charred wooden remains from the first palace beneath the ruins of the second, pinpointing the exact timing of the fire. The overlap of both structures shows how later builders adopted and slightly expanded the older floor plans.