The mountains around Muro-ji served as secret training grounds for Iga ninja, who used the remote, forested terrain to practice their skills away from prying eyes alongside the temple's mountain ascetics.

Muro-ji's five-story pagoda is the smallest outdoor pagoda in Japan, dating to the 9th century. It survived 1,000 years only to be damaged by a typhoon in 1998, then fully restored two years later.

The temple earned the nickname 'women's Koyasan' because it welcomed female worshippers during an era when the famous Mt. Koya monastery banned women entirely. Today, about 80% of its visitors are still women.

Mount Muro's caves were believed to be carved by a dragon deity named Zennyo Ryuo. The imperial court once traveled here to pray for rain and good harvests, trusting the dragon spirit to bring storms.