Watpo is popularty known as the temple of the reclining under the King's patronage. Here the traditional knowledge about different aspects of Thai culture such as history religion, literature, arts, medical science, physical therapy and pharmacy. was gathered and preserved.

Watpo was continuously expanded. In 1836 during the reign of King Rama III, by royal decree, inscriptions related to arts and science such as medical science and pharmacology were created. There are 60 pictures showing the energy lines and pressure points of the human body. 80 statues show ascetics performing Yoga-like stretching exercises (Ruesi-Datton) with different beneficial effects, and about 1,100 formulas of recognized herbal medicines are illustrated. Like this the knowledge about medicine and self-healing could easily be accessed by anyone interested. In 2008 and 2011 the inscriptions of the epigraph archives of Watpo were recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the “Memory of the World" regional register of the Asian-Pacific region and consecutively the international register.