The main entrance faces the Avenue of the Dead and is southwest of the Pyramid of the Moon.

[1] Due to the location of the palace and the quality of its art, it is thought the complex was home to a high ranking priest or other dignitary.

The name Quetzalpapálotl comes from the reliefs of mythological birds on the courtyard pillars[2] and is from Nahuatl quetzalli, precious feather, and pāpālōtl, butterfly.

[3] Between 2009 and 2011 the complex went through a rehabilitation by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.

On the subterranean Temple of the Feathered Conches, buried beneath the palace, there are depictions of a green bird and items associated with water and life.