Wat Pho, is a first grade royal monastery, regarded as the most important one during the reign of King Rama I of the Chakri Dynasty. The importance of this is due to the King having managed the restoration of Wat Phodharam, an old monastery from the Ayudhya period, and had it re-established as a royal monastery located near the Grand Palace.
The monastery is located on an area of 20 acres to the south of the Grand Palace, with Thai Wang road in the north, Sanam Chai road in the east, Setthakan road in the south and Maharat road in the west in Bangkok.
First restoration took 7 years 5 months and 28 days. It was started in 1788 by King Rama I. The great restoration, having taken 16 years and 7 months, was done during the reign of King Rama III. Although there was another restoration before the Bangkok Bicentennial Celebration in 1982, no more other major work has been done on the monastery, except for some minor repairs.