During the Wei Dynasty, when the first reference to them appeared, the tiles were used only as palace ornaments.
於是採礦山中，於京師鑄之。既成，…… 乃詔為行殿，客百餘人，光色映徹，觀者見之，莫不驚駭，以為神明所作。」自此，這種光輝亮麗的琉璃瓦，為中國式屋頂又增色不少。中國建築以瓦鋪頂，始自夏代。