Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh stands at the meeting of the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Bassac waterways, a junction traditionally known as Chaktomuk, the Four Faces. The city takes its name from the hill of Wat Phnom, where a shrine became a focus of local devotion. Its rivers connect the great lake, the Cambodian interior and the delta, making the site a natural meeting place for boats and merchants.

In the fifteenth century King Ponhea Yat moved the Cambodian court south from Angkor, eventually establishing his capital at Phnom Penh. Royal residences later shifted among several centres, including Srei Santhor, Longvek and Oudong. The river junction remained important even when the court lived elsewhere, and merchants continued to use its waterways to reach the kingdom's markets. Phnom Penh's history reflects the changing balance between the old Angkorian heartland and the commercial routes of the lower Mekong.

The later city of Chbar Mon also lies here.