[1] According to tradition, the temple was established in at the end of the 7th century by En no Gyōja, the founder of Shugendō, a form of mountain asceticism drawing from Buddhist and Shinto beliefs.

"Kinpusen-san" refers to the entire sacred mountain area from Mount Yoshino to Sanjōgatake, and the group of temples scattered there was collectively called "Kinpusen-ji."

In the Tenpyō era (729-749), Gyōki is said to have carried out a major renovation, and by some legends say built Kinpusen-ji at the foot of the mountain as the Zaō-dō Hall at the top of Ōminesan was difficult to access.

In 1614, Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered Tenkai, a Tendai Buddhist monk (the founder of Kan'ei-ji in Edo and other temples), to become head of Kinpusen-ji and Ōminesan-ji.

After the Meiji restoration, the Shinbutsu Bunri abolished the syncretic Shinto-Buddhist beliefs that had been practiced throughout the country for many centuries, and Shugendō was officially suppressed.

There is a ridge path from Mount Yoshino to the main hall of Ōminesan-ji, but general worshippers climb Sanjōgatake from Dorogawa in Tenkawa Village at the foot of the mountain.

Beyond that are difficult chain sections (ascetic practice areas) called "Abura Koboshi," "Kanekakeiwa," and "Nishi no Nozoki."

The most famous of these is the "Nishi no Nozoki" practice area, where pilgrims lean over the edge of a cliff with a safety rope.

Behind the main hall is the "Ura no Gyojo," where pilgrims train without safety ropes on a cliff without chains.