Plans are afoot for the integrated development of Motupalli, a historic port in Chinnaganjam mandal of Prakasam district.

The tourism potential of the sleepy village, where the bronze idols of Lord Nataraja, his consort Parvati, their son Ganesha and Alwars, the Bhakti movement saints dating back to the 12th century, were found in the 1970s, has remained hitherto untapped.

It is interesting to note that coins and pottery from the 9th century Chinese Ming dynasty were also found during the excavations conducted in 1972.

Recollecting the historical significance of the place, Dr. E. Sivanagi Reddy, Archaeologist and CEO, Cultural Centre of Vijayawada and Amaravati, said that Motupalli had served as an international port during early and medieval periods. Inscriptions of Kakatiya Ganapathi Deva, Anapotha Reddy of the Kondaveedu dynasty and Deva Raya II of the Vijayanagara dynasty now at the Veerabhadra Swamy temple, mention the incentives provided to the sea-borne traders.

At the initiative of the Motupalli Heritage Society, officials from the Tourism Department recently conducted a survey in and around Motupalli, an important port of with a flourishing EXIM trade during the times of the Cholas and continued during the Kakatiya, Vijayanagara, and Qutub Shahi periods, according to MHS Secretary Dasaratharami Reddy.

Italian traveller Marco Polo who had visited the port in 1287 AD, had given a vivid account on the flourishing trade activities at the port during the reign of Kakatiya queen Rudrama Devi.

Dr. Jyothi Chandramouli, a local historian, gave an account of the literary references to the port during the Reddy period.