县衙 (xiàn yá) refers to the traditional county-level administrative office and residence of the magistrate in imperial China. The character 县 (xiàn) means 'county' — a historical administrative division — while 衙 (yá) denotes an official government office or yamen, often housing both administrative functions and judicial proceedings. Together, 县衙 specifically identifies the seat of local governance where the county magistrate conducted trials, collected taxes, maintained order, and issued decrees.

This term is primarily used in historical, literary, or cultural contexts today — for example, when describing Ming or Qing dynasty institutions, visiting restored heritage sites, or reading classical novels like 'The Scholars' or 'Dream of the Red Chamber.' It carries strong connotations of pre-modern bureaucracy and Confucian governance, and is rarely used for modern government offices, which are called 政府 (zhèngfǔ) or 局 (jú).