By studying the cultural connotation of the waterfront landscape design of Xuanwu Lake Park, this paper expounds the cultural connotation of the landscape design. This paper mainly expounds the cultural connotation of historic waterfront landscape design. Through the understanding of China's history and culture, this paper solves the problem of cultural connotation in China's urban waterfront landscape design, and finds the relationship between the composition and development trend of urban waterfront landscape design and the development of history and culture. Through the historical study of Xuanwu Lake Park, combined with the existing landscape design and Xuanwu Lake's own landscape design, today's Xuanwu Lake Park's landscape design, how to use the context of historical inheritance and the innovation of waterfront landscape design to reflect the urban historical context of a city's inherent waterfront landscape and make it the focus of attention.