[2] Taman Sari consisted of four distinct areas: a large artificial lake with islands and pavilions located in the west, a bathing complex in the centre, a complex of pavilions and pools in the south, and a smaller lake in the east.

Today only the central bathing complex is well preserved, while the other areas have been largely occupied by the Kampung Taman settlement.

Since 2017, the Historical City Centre of Yogyakarta including Taman Sari has been listed as a tentative World Heritage Site.

The building site, however, had already been known as a bathing place called Pacethokan Spring since Sunan Amangkurat IV’s reign (1719–1726).

[6][7] According to Kitab Mamana in Yogyakarta Kraton, the project leader for the construction of Taman Sari was Tumenggung Mangundipura.

[8] Taman Sari was built three years after the Giyanti Agreement as a resting place for Sultan Hamengkubuwono I.

The complex consists of about 59 buildings[9] including a mosque, meditation chambers, swimming pools, and a series of 18 water gardens and pavilions surrounded by artificial lakes.

[10] The Regent of Madiun, Raden Rangga Prawirasentika, participated in funding the construction of Taman Sari.

In 1758, the Sultan commanded the Regent to supervise the making of bricks and various complements, which would be used to build a beautiful garden.

After finding out how large the complex was, Raden Rangga Prawirasentika realized that the cost would have been greater than the taxes.

The relief around this sengkalan memet shows birds siphoning honey from flowery trees.

The maintenance of Taman Sari was abandoned shortly after Hamengkubuwono I died, partly because the elaborate hydraulic works were so difficult to maintain.

Over time, squatters began to inhabit the site, surrounding the ruins of the deserted pavilions and filling the empty lakebeds.

[6] The manuscript of Serat Rerenggan mentions the story of Demang Tegis, a Portuguese man said to be one of the architect of Taman Sari.

According to the manuscript, a strange man suddenly appeared in Mancingan Village (a locality name on the south coast of Java near Parangtritis).

With long nose, white complexion, and a foreign language, the villagers suspected that the person was some kind of spirit or forest fairy.

[16] There is a controversy whether Demang Tegis was actually the architect of Taman Sari, as the design resembles a hybrid of Javanese and Dutch styles, rather than Portuguese.

Veth, in Java – Book III, page 631 wrote, "Local research says that [Taman Sari’s architecture] was designed by either a Spanish or Portuguese engineer, who was stranded off his sunken ship at the southern beach.

[10][18] The widespread assumption of European influence in the design of Taman Sari has been also challenged by the research of Hélène Njoto-Feillard from the University of Pantheon-Sorbonne, presented in a 2003 conference paper.

Analysing the historic context and architectural style of the complex, the conclusion is that the creators are most likely local Javanese.

The absence of any mention of European involvement in the construction of Taman Sari in Dutch historic descriptions is presented as further evidence in support of this hypothesis.

The third area, now completely gone, is the Pasarean Ledok Sari and Garjitawati Pool, located in the south of the bathing complex.

[9][19][20] On the south side of Kenongo Island is a row of small buildings called the Tajug.

The area is accessed via two gates on the east and the west side, each of these gates leads to the center of the complex, first to an inner octagonal-shaped courtyard on the east and the west, and then each of these courtyards leads to a central bathing complex in the center.

The northernmost building was used as the resting place and changing room for the daughters and concubines of the sultan.

The description of this area is retrieved from a reconstruction made from the 1812 English army sketch of the Yogyakarta kraton.

The canal was about 20 meter wide and there are two bottlenecks that are thought to be the place where a hanging bridge once stood.

On the west side of the hanging bridge is a pier that was used by the sultan as his starting point for his journey to the Taman Sari pool on his royal vessel.