Kraton Ratu Baka was first discovered by a Dutch archaeologist, HJ De Graaf in the 17th century. In 1790 Van Boeckholtz rediscovered the ruins of the ancient building. His discovery was published, attracting the interest of scientists such as Makenzie, Junghun, and Brumun who recorded the site in 1814. In the early 20th century, the Ratu Baka site was re-examined by FDK Bosch. The results of his research were reported in an article entitled Keraton Van Ratoe Boko. When Mackenzie conducted research, he found a statue depicting a man and a woman with the heads of gods hugging. And among the piles of stones, a stone pillar was also found depicting animals, such as elephants, horses and others.

At the Ratu Baka site, an inscription dated 792 AD was found, called the Abhayagiriwihara Inscription. The contents of the inscription underlie the assumption that Kraton Ratu Baka was built by Rakai Panangkaran. The Abhayagiriwihara inscription is written using pranagari letters, which are one of the characteristics of Buddhist inscriptions. The inscription states that King Tejapurnama Panangkarana, who is thought to be Rakai Panangkaran, ordered the construction of Abhayagiriwihara. The same name is also mentioned in the Kalasan Inscription (779 AD), the Mantyasih Inscription (907 AD), and the Wanua Tengah III Inscription (908 AD). According to experts, the word abhaya means without hagaya or peaceful, giri means mountain or hill. Thus, Abhayagiriwihara means a monastery built on a peaceful hill. During the reign of Rakai Walaing Pu Kombayoni, namely in 898-908, Abhayagiri Wihara changed its name to Kraton Walaing.

The Ratu Baka Palace, which occupies a fairly large area, consists of several groups of buildings. Most of them are currently only in ruins.

Gate

The entrance gate to the Ratu Baka tourist area is located on the west side. This group of gates is located in a fairly high place, so that from the vehicle parking area, people have to go through an uphill road of about 100 m. The entrance consists of two gates, namely the outer gate and the inner gate. The inner gate, which is larger in size, is the main gate.

The outer gate consists of 3 paduraksa gates that are lined up in a north-south direction, overlapping facing east. The largest gate, which is the main gate, is located between the two flanking gates. The three gates are located on a high terrace, so to get to the terrace courtyard, people have to climb two stone stairs, each about 2.5 m high. The terrace walls are reinforced with sheet piles made of andesite stone. None of the three gates have roofs that are still intact, so their original form is unknown.

About 15 m from the outer gate stands the inner gate or main gate. This gate consists of 5 paduraksa gates that are lined up parallel to the outer gate. The main gate is flanked by two flanking gates on each side. Although this inner gate consists of five gates, there are only three stairs available. The two small flanking gates are not connected by stairs. The stairs going up are equipped with a ladder cheek with a 'ukel' (gelung) decoration at the base and a giant head at the top of the ladder cheek. The outer walls of the stairs are also decorated with carvings with floral motifs and vines. The roof of the main gate has been lost so its original shape is unknown, but the roof of the flanking gates which is still intact is in the shape of a pyramid with a pearl-shaped top.

Batukapur Temple

About 45 m from the first gate, to the northeast, there is a 5x5 m2 foundation built of limestone. It is estimated that the walls and roof of the original building were not made of stone, but of other materials that are easily damaged, such as wood and shingles or ordinary tiles.

Creation Temple

The cremation temple is in the form of a 3 m high terraced earth. It is located about 37 m to the northeast of the main gate. This building has a square base plan with an area of 26 m2. The second terrace is narrower than the first terrace, so that it forms a corridor around the second terrace. The surface of the upper terrace or second terrace is a grassy courtyard. The walls of the two terraced terraces are reinforced with sheet piles made of river stones. On the west side there are stone stairs equipped with stair cheeks. In the middle of the second terrace courtyard there is a kind of square well measuring 4X4 m2 which is used as a place for cremation. In the southeast corner of the cremation temple there is one of the old wells which is said to be a source of holy water.

Paseban

Paseban is a Javanese word meaning a place to face the king (seba = facing). This building is located about 45 m to the south of the gate. Paseban is a terrace built of andesite stone with a height of 1.5 m, a width of 7 m and a length of 38 m, stretching north-south. The stairs up to the paseban floor are located on the west side. In various places on the floor surface, 20 foundation umpaks were found (places to stick building pillars) and 4 grooves which are estimated to be the former places where the boundary wall stood.

Pendapa

About 20 m from the paseban, south of the gate, there is a 3 m high stone wall that fences a plot of land measuring 40 m long and 30 m wide. On the north, west and south sides of the fence there is an entrance in the form of a paduraksa gate (roofed gate).

In several places on the outside of the wall there is a water drainage channel, called jaladwara. Jaladwara is also found in the Banyuniba and Barabudhur temples.

In the stone fence there are two terraces built using andesite stone. Along the edge of the wall and between the two terraces there is a stone-floored alley. The first terrace is called pendapa, shaped like a square stage 1.46 m high, with an area of 20 m2. In Javanese, pendapa means living room or roofed floor which is generally located at the front of the house. The stairs up to the pendapa are on the northeast and northwest sides.

Above the surface of the pendapa floor there are 24 stone bases. The second terrace, called 'pringgitan' is located south of the pendapa. Pringgitan means inner room or sitting room. This pringgitan also has a rectangular plan with an area of 20 X 6 m. On the surface of the pringgitan floor, 12 stone bases were found.

Outside the pendapa wall, to the southeast, there is a stone terrace that is still intact. At the end there are 3 small temples used as places of worship. The building in the middle, which is larger than the two flanking temples, is a place to worship Lord Vishnu. The two flanking temples are, respectively, places to worship Shiva and Brahma.

Keputren

Keputren, which means the residence of the princesses, is located to the east of the pendapa. The keputren area measuring 31 X 8 m is bordered by a 2 m high stone fence, but most of the stone fence has collapsed. The entrance, in the form of a paduraksa gate with Kalamakara decorations above the threshold, is located on the east and west sides.

The keputren area is divided into two by a stone wall that has a connecting door. In the first area there are 3 square ponds. One is square, larger than the other two ponds. The two longer ponds are rectangular in shape running north-south.

In the area adjacent to where the three square ponds above are located, there are 8 round ponds lined up in 3 rows.

Caves

On the hillside where the Ratu Baka area is located, there are two caves, called Gua Lanang and Gua Wadon (male cave and female cave). Gua Lanang, located northeast of the 'paseban', is a square corridor with a height of 1.3 m, a width of 3.7 m and a depth of 2.9 m. Inside the cave, on the left, right and back sides, there are niches like rooms. On the walls of the cave there are carvings in the form of a kind of rectangular frame. Mackenzie found a statue in front of Gua Lanang.

Gua Wadon, located about 20 m to the southeast of the 'paseban' is smaller than Gua Lanang, namely 1.3 m high, 3 m wide and 1.7 m deep. At the back of the cave there is a niche like a room.