Die Haupthalle des Tempels ist als Wichtiges Kulturgut ausgewiesen und damit offiziell als historisches Bauwerk geschützt.

Kobo Daishi personally carved the temple's main image, a Thousand Armed Kannon, when he converted Yashima-ji to Shingon Buddhism in 815 and relocated it to its current spot on the plateau's south side.

The temple sits atop a lava plateau that once served as an ancient fortress connected to Japan's 7th-century defeat at the Battle of Hakusukinoe in Korea, when they allied with the Kingdom of Baekje.

The temple's beloved tanuki statue, Minoyama Daimyojin, is said to have fought in both the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) and Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) by shapeshifting into different forms.