In the current design practice, bridges are designed to be supported on fixed-base (FB) foundation. During seismic events, the dissipation of energy is allowed by the formation of plastic hinges near the pier joints. These bridges may be safe from collapse during strong seismic events, however, the plastic deformations suffered by the pier may cause hindrance to traffic flow, necessitate repair and lead to partial or perhaps even complete demolition of the bridge. As an alternative design approach, the bridges can be supported on rocking foundations wherein the plastic hinges are guided onto the soil thereby utilizing the unavoidable nonlinear failure mechanisms of the soil for the seismic protection of the bridge. The deterministic analyses of the bridges supported on rocking foundations are being reported by a few researchers. However, the seismic response analysis in a probabilistic framework is lacking. The present numerical investigation is intended to study the seismic behavior of bridge pier supported on rocking shallow foundation (RSF) as part of performance-based design (PBD) approach. The deterministic model of the bridge pier on RSF is modeled using beam on nonlinear Winkler foundation (BNWF) approach and implemented in OpenSees platform. The sensitivity and reliability analyses are carried to identify and understand the important parameters which influence the seismic response of the developed numerical model of the bridge pier. Fragility analysis is also carried out to quantify the seismic behavior of the model in a probabilistic framework. The study is able to establish the beneficial effects of using RSF for bridges in comparison to FB foundation. The study also addresses the concerns regarding the uncertain strength, excessive overturning and lack of procedures to evaluate drift and settlement demands