[note 3] It remained a small village until the 1280s when the Mongol invasions toppled the Pagan Empire, and Myinsaing's native sons—the brothers Athinkhaya, Yazathingyan and Thihathu—emerged as the main power brokers in the postwar era.

[note 4] Myinsaing became one of the three de facto capitals of the rump kingdom in 1297 when the brothers overthrew King Kyawswa for having submitted to the Mongols earlier in the year.

[11][12][13] The brothers put up a puppet king in Pagan (Bagan) but they effectively ruled the kingdom out of their respective fiefs: Myinsaing, Mekkhaya and Pinle.

The youngest brother Thihathu, based out of Pinle, emerged as the undisputed ruler, and chose to build a new capital at Pinya, 40 km (25 mi) northwest of Myinsaing, in 1313.

[28] A 1925 British colonial era report states that the Myinsaing old town by then was "a brick-strewn area, which [contained] two large but much damaged pagodas", surrounded by "traces of the walls".

[note 7] Other areas of interest include traces of the three rings of ancient ramparts and the excavated foundation base of the old palace inside the walls.

[note 8] At any rate, a 2017 article in The Irrawaddy states that the "large village" of "Myinsaing" had a post-primary school and a few district-level offices, and that new wards were being planned.