--- title: "Can a Horse (Knight) Enter the Palace in Xiangqi? · Xiangqi Master" description: "Yes. Only the general and advisors are confined to the palace. Horses, chariots, cannons and soldiers may all enter it freely." url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/can-a-knight-enter-the-palace-in-xiangqi updated: 2026-09-22 source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com) license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) --- # Can horses enter the palace in xiangqi? These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing. > Direct answer > > **Yes, freely.** The palace restricts only the **general and advisors**, and only from *leaving*. Every other piece — horse, chariot, cannon, soldier, and the enemy's too — may move through and stand inside it, subject only to its own normal movement rules. ## The horse in the palace is dangerous A horse planted on the edge of the enemy palace is one of the strongest attacking placements in the game. It covers escape points the defending general cannot easily contest, and it is hard to dislodge because the points that attack a horse are often points the defender cannot reach. It is half of 馬後炮, the most common mate in xiangqi. ## Getting it there A horse takes three or four moves to reach the enemy palace, and it can be blocked on the way. Count those moves before committing to an attack that depends on the horse arriving — attacks fail far more often from arriving late than from being wrong. ## Related questions Can an elephant enter the enemy palace? No, but only because it cannot cross the river. The palace itself does not stop it. Can a soldier enter the palace? Yes, and a soldier inside the enemy palace is worth far more than its nominal value. ## Related xiangqi resources How the horse moves An L-shape that can be blocked — it never jumps Horse behind cannon 馬後炮 — the classic mate Attacking the palace How xiangqi attacks are built ## Try it on a real board Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.