Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of the park's main functions is as an ecological space in Greater Mexico City.

[3] Hernán Cortés appropriated Chapultepec and granted the northern portion to Captain Juan Jaramillo, who would become the husband of La Malinche.

The Chapultepec aqueduct led water from the springs of the forest to an area in what was the south of the city, called Salto del Agua.

[1] In 1785, the Franciscan hermitage was demolished to make way for the Chapultepec Castle, converting the hill and the forest around it into a summer retreat for colonial viceroys.

Many myths have been woven around the story of "los Niños Héroes," the most famous being that of Juan Escutia, who allegedly jumped to his death wrapped in the Mexican flag rather than surrendering to the American troops.

This was to give more relevance to the patriotic story after a visit from then-president Harry Truman to honor the fallen 100 years after the war wasn't well received.

[2] In 2005, the park was filled with trees in poor condition, had scum in the lakes, and had trash piles in several locations, including fountains.

The first section was closed for eight months in 2005, for work that included dredging lakes, pruning and removing trees, picking up tons of debris, and expelling hundreds of vendors.

[15] Shortly thereafter, projects on the second and third sections of the park began, mostly to control or eliminate rats, feral dogs and cats, pigeons, and other introduced species.

[2] The name "Chapultepec" means "at the grasshopper hill" in Nahuatl and refers to a large rock formation that is the center of the park's first section.

Originally, this area was a forest outside of Tenochtitlan, once considered sacred in pre-Columbian times, but today it is entirely within the city (mostly in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo), surrounded by some of its primary business and commercial districts.

[16] Archeological studies have unearthed and identified tombs associated with Teotihuacan, a Toltec altar on the summit of Chapultepec Hill, remains of a colonial era aqueduct, paths associated with Nezahualcoyotl, and an area where Aztec priests ingested peyote as part of religious rites.

[2] The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia has the park, as well as the Castle of Chapultepec on the hill, listed as Mexican heritage sites.

[2][4] These fences mostly separate it from the streets that form its boundaries: Avenida Constituyentes (es), Paseo de la Reforma, Calzada Chivatito, and the Anillo Periférico.

[21] These are connected by various paved paths, many of which have names such as the Avenue of the Poets, which is lined with bronze busts of famous literary figures.

[22][3] After the Conquest, a small chapel dedicated to the Archangel Michael was built on the hill by Claudio de Arciniega in the middle of the 16th century.

[2][3] After the Independence, the Castle remained for the elite, becoming the official residence of Mexico's heads of state, including the Emperor Maximilian, who had the Paseo de la Reforma built to connect this area with the historic center of the city.

[22][3] In 1940, the president's residence was moved to the nearby Los Pinos complex, and the castle was converted into the National Museum of History, under the auspices of the federal government, along with the rest of the hill.

It also contains a collection of furniture from the colonial period to the 19th century, utensils, suits, coins, manuscripts, sculptures in clay ivory and silver, and many other art works.

A number of items belonged to figures such as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, José María Morelos y Pavón, Agustín de Iturbide, Benito Juárez, Emiliano Zapata, and others.

[22] At the foot of the hill, there is a large monument to the Niños Héroes (also called the Altar a la Patria), who reportedly threw themselves to their death at the Castle rather than surrendering to invading US troops in 1847.

[2] This monument consist of six marble columns surrounding a mausoleum with the remains of the six cadets, and a figure of a woman who represents Mexico.

The museum has a number of antecedents beginning from the colonial period, but the current institution was created in the 1960s with the building and grounds designed by architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez.

This museum has an area of 44,000 m2 (470,000 sq ft) and 25 exhibit halls with sections devoted to each of the major pre-Hispanic civilizations in Mexico, including the Aztec, Maya, Toltec, and Olmec.

The residence is made up of white stucco structures; this architecture can be seen from Molino del Rey, a former millhouse and site of a battle of the Mexican–American War in 1847.

[27] One part of this section was dominated by the Feria de Chapultepec amusement park, located near the Lago Mayor, just off the Anillo Periférico.

The major parts open to the public consist of a pavilion, covered with an orange half cupola and a fountain with an image of Tlaloc.

The main building has serpent heads on the four corners and there is a mural painted by Diego Rivera called El agua: origen de la vida.

[24][10] In 2010, the second section of the park underwent rehabilitation, funded in part by a private charity group called Probosque de Chapultepec.

[11][2] Although some recreational activities such as archery and horseback riding are practiced there, the importance of this area is primarily as an ecological preserve for various species of flora and fauna, such as snakes and lizards.