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The place finds mention in Skanda Purana, which has eight chapters detailing the legend of the temple. As per Hindu legend, Devandagadagan, an Yaksha and the maternal of the famous king Kubera, once got a boon from Brahma that he would get endless powers. He was very proud of his powers and started troubling the Deva (Hinduism), the celestial deities, and the sages who were doing penance in the region. He was once punished by sage Atri, who cursed him to roam in the forest and said that he would be relieved of his curse once Vishnu strikes him with a mace. Ages passed by and Kanvagada was troubling the sages in the forest. Once sage Kanva was finding it difficult to spot a place to do his penance, when sage Atri advised him to go to a place on the banks of Cauvery close to Narayanagiri. Kanva started doing his penance and the Yaksha started troubling the sage. A divine voice informed the sage to seek the help of Venkateswara. The sage did so and Venkateshwara came to the place from his abode at Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. He transformed as a hunter with a bow called Saranga and his mace called Denkani. An intense battle followed between the hunter and Devandagadaga, eventually the hunter slaying the Yaksha with Denkani. In memori of the event, the place came to be known as Denkanipuram, which eventually became Denkanikottai. The sage and the Yaksha were blessed with the vision of Venkateshwara, who made the place his abode.

The temple occupies an area of 1 acre (0.40 ha) and is surrounded by a granite walls. The rectangular enclosure measure 244 ft (74 m) by 204 ft (62 m), while the temple tank measures 220 ft (67 m) by 235 ft (72 m). The five tiered rajagopuram, the temple's gateway tower, has five kalasam at the top. The sanctum houses the image of Betrayaswamy in standing posture similar to the image of Venkateshwara in Tirumala Venkateswara Temple.The images of Sridevi and Bhudevi are located on either of his sides. The Ardha mandapa is guarded by two dwarapalas on either sides. The shrine of Soundaravalli is located closed to the eastern gateway. There Mahamandapa houses the images of sage Kanva, Vedanta Desikar, Manavala Maamunigal, Azhwars and Ramanuja. There are separate shrines for Venugopala housing Bhama and Rukmini, and Rama housing Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman. There are a number of smaller shrines and halls in the precincts of the temple. There are three temple tanks associated with the temple namely Chakra Theertha, Sundari Theertha and Sanathkumara Theertha.