 Following the Diponegoro War, the town's decline accelerated and when G. P. Rouffaer drew a map in 1889, it was already in ruins.Because of the destruction of the buildings, the layout of Plered could only be approximated from historical reports, such as Van Goens' description of his 1648 visit to the palace, a map by Rouffaers based on his visit to the ruins in 1889, another map by Louw in 1897, and Javanese texts such as the "babads" as well as modern archaeological analysis of the site.The "kraton" of Plered was a walled structure in a shape that is roughly square but not perfectly symmetrical.