Archaic term for Nara, used historically in contrast with 北京 (the old name for Kyoto). Not used in modern Japanese outside historical contexts.
See also: 北京
In old documents, Nara is sometimes written as 南京.
南京 (なんきょう) is the archaic 'southern capital' name for Nara, while 北京 (ほくきょう) is the archaic 'northern capital' name for Kyoto, the two terms being used in historical contrast.
南京 read なんきょう is an archaic name for Nara, but the same kanji read なんきん refers to Nanjing in China (and appears in words like 南京錠 'padlock').
Literally 'southern capital', from 南 (south) and 京 (capital). Used historically to refer to Nara when the capital was in the south, in contrast to 北京 (northern capital) for Kyoto.