Liverpool - World Heritage City (pdf 457kb) includes that part of the historic city of Liverpool that is both authentic and relates directly to its function as an historic port. It is considered that the Site compels recognition because its surviving architectural and technological interest is of outstanding universal value and because it strongly reflects the successes of the civilization that created it. The full description and history of the World Heritage Site and the justification for the nomination can be found in the Nomination Document, Liverpool- Maritime Mercantile City.

For ease of description and understanding, the World Heritage Site has been divided into 6 areas of distinctive townscape character: 1) The Pier Head, 2) The Albert Dock Area, 3) The Stanley Dock Area, 4) The Commercial Centre of Castle Street/Dale Street/ Victoria Street/Old Hall Street, 5) The Cultural Quarter around William Brown Street, and 6) The area of warehouses and merchants' houses around Duke Street. 
A Buffer Zone has also been drawn around the Site, primarily to protect its visual setting.