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The main temple of the shiva is told to have a history which goes back to one thousand years. Stories tell that Sri Ramachandra had visited this place along with his younger brother Lakshman, in respect of which an offering of a large amount of rice is made to the lord during the noon pooja and it is then poured on a rock slab in front of the shiva temple for monkeys. People gather in large numbers to watch a large number of monkeys coming from all sides of the forest to feast upon the hot rice prasadam. Till today it is the custom among these monkes that the eldest and bulkies of the bunch named as “Karinja Dadda” takes the first byte of the feast and who ever breaks the rule will be punished by the boss – “The Dadda”. Stories also refer back to Dwapara where in pandavas took shelter in the caves around this place during their excite. Gadatheertha a large lake right at the pot of the cliff, assumed to be dug by Beema Senas club (gada) stands as a testimony for the story. On the cliff there is another water source created by Arjuna’s arrow, named as varaha thirtha, along with this there are two other water sources namely ungusta theertha and Janutheertha which are respected by the devotees. A holy dip in these water sources on specific days is told to cure away skin diseases.

Architectural Style of this Shiva Temple is influenced by both Vaishnav and Jain styles of Architecture. A stone sculpture on the base of the flag post of the temple indicates that the Kelady rulers, who were under Vijayanagara kingdom had given royal patronage to this temple.

Karinja Cliff is also becoming a popular tourist spot. People visit this cliff just to enjoy the fresh air, lush green surroundings of cool water of this cliff. During night, watching the electric lamps of the near by towns, specify like stars, from the top of the cliff is a feast for eyes.