Wat Pak Nam, or the Monastery at the Mouth of the River, was located off the city island in the southeastern area of Ayutthaya in the Ko Rian Sub-district.
The temple stood on the east bank of the Bangkok River (1) and at the mouth of the Suan Phlu Canal (2) just opposite the English settlement in an area called Pak Nam Mae Bia (ปากนำแม่เบี้ย) (3). The Japanese settlement stood south.
No traces are remaining in situ above ground level.
The site was in geographical coordinates: 14° 20' 16.19" N, 100° 34' 38.72" E (based on 2007 map).
Its historical background and period of construction are unknown.
Wat Pak Nam features on the drafted map of Engelbert Kaempfer. Kaempfer (1651-1716 CE) was a medical doctor working for the Dutch VOC (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) who surveyed the city of Ayutthaya in June 1690 CE. The monastery is shown south and near the mouth of an off-shoot of Khlong Suan Phlu.
Wat Pak Nam is mentioned on Phraya Boran Ratchathanin's map drafted in 1926 CE. The monastery is called Wat Sing Pak Nam on a 1993 CE FAD map.
In the manuscript 'Testimony of the King from Wat Pradu Songtham', a document likely compiled in the early Rattanakosin period, it is written that there was a land market at Wat Sing in front of the Japanese building. [1]
Whether or not we had two temples in the area, Wat Pak Nam and Wat Sing or one single monastery, as mentioned on the 1993 CE FAD map, remains unanswered.
In my opinion, the location of the English settlement indicated on the 2007 CE FAD map is incorrect, and the location could have been a contender of Wat Sing.
Footnotes:
(1) The Bangkok River was in the Ayutthayan era, the stretch of water of the Lopburi River from Bang Kaja at the southern point of Ayutthaya till its confluence with the Chao Phraya River at Bang Sai. The Bangkok River became a stretch of the Chao Phraya River in the 19th century after the latter was deviated from Ban Kum to Ayutthaya in 1857 CE. The stretch of water from Ban Kum until Bang Sai is called today the Bang Ban Canal and joins the Noi River at Nam Tao. The latter flows south until Bang Sai, where it joins the present Chao Phraya River.
(2) Khlong Suan Phlu, or the "Canal of the Betel Garden", flows through the Kramang and Suan Phlu sub-districts of Ayutthaya. The canal is situated off the city island in the southeastern area. The canal links the Pa Sak River in the north with the Chao Phraya River in the south. Khlong Suan Phlu created an island called "Ko Wilandia" in the Ayutthayan era. The Dutch settlement and Wat Phanan Choeng are situated on this island.
(3) Pak Nam Mae Bia (ปากนำแม่เบี้ย) - Mae Bia means 'Mother Cobra Hood' generally translated as 'Snake Lady'. Mae Bia is a 1989 CE Thai horror thriller film. It had a remake in 2001 and 2015 CE with the same name.
References:
[1] Baker, Chris (2011). Note On Testimonies And Description Of Ayutthaya. Journal of the Siam Society. Vol. 99. p. 77 (paragraph on KWPS).
