Wat Tha or the Monastery of the Landing was located off the city island in the
western area of Ayutthaya in Ban Pom Sub-district. The monastery stood on the south
bank of the present Chao Phraya River and in the immediate vicinity of Wat Ka Rong.
Its former site is now the location of the present-day Tha Ka Rong Monastery.
Depending of which version of the Ayutthayan chronicles is consulted, sources speak
about Wat Ka Rong or Wat Tha Ka Rong or the Monastery of the Landing of the
Crying Crow; Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map of 1926 indicates clearly two monastic
structures being Wat Tha (Monastery of the Landing) and Wat Ka Rong (Monastery
of the Crying Crow). The two temples were eventually merged to establish the present
Wat Tha Ka Rong or the Monastery of the Landing of the Crying Crow. The
Chronicles of Ayutthaya mention the temple's existence for the first time in the
mid-sixteenth century, but the monastery has been likely established much earlier.
The landing near Wat Tha was in Ayutthayan times the home base for the riverine
vessels. The dockyard provided shelter for approximately two hundred boats. [1]
As can be deducted from the web page on Wat Ka Rong, the area near the confluence
of the old Lopburi River and the present Chao Phraya River was an important
strategically position in wartime as it controlled the northern water route as well as a part
of the old Lopburi River.
Some older monastic structures still can be seen at Wat Tha Ka Rong, although the main
attraction of this temple is its modern representation of an old water market (Th: Talat
Nam).