Eastern Palace (A Link to the Past)

The Eastern Palace, also known as the East Palace, is the second dungeon in A Link to the Past. Link enters the palace as part of Sahasrahla's test to see if he can overcome it and obtain the Pendant of Courage. As suggested by the name, it's found in the eastern side of Hyrule, inside a rocky canyon.

The Eastern Palace returns in Four Swords Adventures as the Eastern Temple.

Themes and Navigation
The dungeon's puzzles and obstacles aren't too complex, but can appear daunting at first. The first major obstacle in particular involves huge rolling Balls sent down a main corridor, with some of them being bigger than others; Link must walk very carefully and get out of the way when a ball is approaching. This trap appears in a slightly different form deeper inside the dungeon, with balls appearing from all sides of the room. Eyegore, originally known here as Rocklops make their first appearance and provide a stiff challenge for an inexperienced player. The main treasure item is the Bow, which is located near the center of the dungeon in a large room filled with Stalfos, and Link will need it to defeat the Red Rocklops to reach the Dungeon Master. At the end of the dungeon, Link must fight six Armos Knights for the Pendant of Courage and a Heart Container (like all Heart Containers dropped by bosses in this game, you have to collect it to progress).

Upon besting the palace, Sahasrahla will explain more about the Master Sword and the Knights of Hyrule, and will encourage Link to find the remaining pendants so that the Blade of the Evil's Bane can be claimed (the pendants' locations will be marked on the map as well). He also gives Link the Pegasus Boots.

Ancient Stone Tablets
The Eastern Palace returns, known as the East Temple in BS The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets, and is again the first dungeon in the adventure. Despite being in the same location and having the same appearance, the interior layout has changed completely. It still shares many similar aspects; it is still filled with Stalfos, Popos and Rocklops, and contains the Bow in the Big Chest and has two floors (now a basement rather than a second floor), but it is generally less complex and more linear in structure, and does not have any iron ball traps. The dungeon also contains the Fighter's Sword, Fighter's Shield and the Pegasus Boots (which now allow the hero to change direction while running). The Armos Knights return as the main boss.

A Link to the Past comic
In the A Link to the Past comic, Link travels to the Eastern Palace after being told by Sahasrahla's Friend where Sahasrahla can be found. There, he finds the descendant of the wise men, and although he is  puzzled as to how someone so young like Link could be searching for the  Master Sword, he tells Link he must recover the Pendants of Virtue   to claim the legendary weapon. Sahasrahla reveals that he can help Link  by giving him the Pendant of Courage, but since the task to  finding the  remaining two pendants will not be an easy one, he asks  whether he will  be able to accomplish said task, to which the young hero confidently says yes both for Zelda and his deceased uncle. Just as Sahasrahla hands the Pendant of Courage to Link, the Castle Soldiers  pursuing Link find him. Empowered by the pendant, he easily dispatches  their leader and sends the rest fleeing. The young hero, amazed at the  power of the pendant, promises to find the remaining two pendants and leaves the palace to search for them.

Trivia

 * The Eastern Palace shares some similarities to the Eagle in the original The Legend of Zelda, with a similar color scheme, a similar map layout, the same dungeon treasure, and Stalfos as common enemies, and both being the first main dungeon of each adventure.
 * The Face Shrine and Southern Face Shrine in Link's Awakening also shares many similarities to the Eastern Palace, with Armos protecting the entrances of each shrine, an Armos Knight appearing as a boss in the southern shrine, and virtually identical statues at the entrance.