Long before Bình Định became known to modern travelers, the ancient Cham people had already chosen the gentle Kôn River as the lifeline of their kingdom. Along this river, they built Đồ Bàn-the flourishing capital where religion, architecture, and daily life were shaped by the rhythm of the water. The river carried sandstone, fertile soil, and the spiritual vision that allowed a civilization to rise with remarkable sophistication.

Today, as we journey from Tháp Đôi to Bánh Ít and finally Dương Long, we are not visiting three separate structures, but following the same story written across the land.

• Tháp Đôi, standing at the gateway of the old capital, reflects the city’s pulse.
• Bánh Ít, poised on a hilltop, watches over the river like a spiritual guardian.
• Dương Long, the tallest and most majestic of them all, marks the northern boundary of the ancient kingdom.
  Each tower was built with intention—shaped by beliefs, aligned with nature, and crafted from materials carried or inspired by the flow of the Kôn River.

And just like their monuments, Cham culinary traditions flowed into local life. Dishes made from pork-nem, chả, tré, and rice-paper rolls-were born from ingenious methods of preservation and celebration. What we enjoy today at Chợ Huyện is not merely food, but the living echo of a refined and adaptive culture.

This journey invites you to follow the river, touch the stones, and taste the stories of a civilization that continues to leave its mark on Bình Định.

Vijaya’s architecture distinguishes it from other Champa centers, because it used a combination of stone and brick elements, while most other Cham structures only used bricks. This suggests some influence from Cambodian Angkor. It also points to the relative abundance of labour in Vijaya compared to other Champa centres of powers, because processing stones for construction was more labour-intensive than the production of bricks. Vijaya’s style of architecture seems to have been dominant throughout Champa for some time, given the later classification of the architecture from the period between the 12th and 14th centuries as the “Binh Dinh style”.