高棉吳哥帝國的建築、雕刻向稱精美，遠近馳名；吳哥寺（Angkor Wat）尤為其登峰造極之作。在登上頂峰之前，高棉走了長遠的路。在漫漫長路上，有很多重大的里程碑；其中，巴普昂（Baphuon, 1050－1080年的京中主寺）是很重要的一座。它的年代、地點都很接近吳哥寺；而且無論其所表現的世界觀、寺院的佔地面積、建築佈局，或雕刻的題材、篇幅等，都為吳哥寺提供了寶貴經驗、厚實基礎。站在巴普昂等建築物的基礎上，高棉人踵事增華，營建了震古鑠今的吳哥寺。

Angkor Wat can be regarded the zenith of the art of the Angkorian Empire. However, it was based on preceding temple-mountains. Among them, Baphuon (1050-1080) can be considered as one of the milestones. It represents the cosmology received from India but revised by the Cambodian. Further, the rendering of the whole sanctuary, including three galleries on the three tiers and the narrative bas-reliefs, which probably represent part of the lives of the people, proved to be a valuable prototype for building Angkor Wat. Thus, Baphuon is one of the crucial foundations for Angkor Wat.