The sites were inscribed based on the criteria that they were a fine representation of the Ryūkyū Kingdom's culture, whose unique blend of Japanese and Chinese influence made it a crucial economic and cultural junction between several neighboring states.
Platserna skrevs in utifrån kriteriet att de utgjorde en utomordentlig representation av Kungariket Ryukyus kultur vars unika blandning av japansk och kinesisk influens gjorde den till en avgörande kulturell och ekonomisk knutpunkt mellan flera grannstater.