Hue was the imperial centre of the Nguyen Dynasty which was founded in 1802 by Emperor Gia Long, and lasted until 1945. The banks of the Perfume River around the Imperial City became the royal graveyard for the thirteen rulers of this area.

The majority of Vietnamese practice ancestor worship, regarding death as a passage into another existence. They believe the layout of a tomb affects the soul’s journey to the spirit world, and the fortunes of the living relatives are determined through formal ceremonies to the dead and protection of the tomb. Desecration of a tomb would have detrimental affects upon both the living ancestors and the souls chance of reaching the ultimate resting place in the spirit world. The tombs of the Emperors were even more important as their position would determine the future of the Dynasty. The Emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty there fore established their own Valley of the Dead, which is believed to be protected in both the physical and spiritual worlds.