At 790 feet, Mandalay Hill dominates the skyline of Mandalay. The city took its name from the hill. It has been a major pilgrimage site for Burmese Buddhists for nearly two centuries.

Tradition holds that the Buddha prophesied that the ogress Sanda Muhki would be reborn as a great king who would build a city at the foot of the hill and become a great
supporter of Buddhism in the year 2400 of the Buddhist Era (1857 AD). In 1857, King Mindon fulfilled the prophecy by laying the foundations of Mandalay.