[2] In order to protect the fishermen from calamities and to safeguard the kingdom from foreign invasions, the king constructed a new Devalaya at the collum of a Na tree (Mesua ferrea) on a hillock at Karagampitiya.

During the Portuguese presence in the island, the Devalaya at Karagampitiya was destroyed and its stone pillars were used to erect the St. Anthony's church at Mount-Lavinia.

[3][4] Recent records about the Subodhara temple has been made in The Book of Ceylon written by Henry William Cave (1909) and in A New Model of the Universe by P D Ouspensky (1914).

The upper terrace is assigned for the Stupa and the Sath-Sath-Geya and the small chamber of Sri Pada (Foot print of Buddha) are located south to it.

The bell tower, Dhammasala (Preaching hall) and pilgrims' rest are also spread out on the lower terrace while the Awasa geya (Dwelling house of monks) is positioned on the south side, further away from them.

A large amount of paintings belonging to the Kandyan era adorn interior walls of many buildings in the Vihara complex.

The upper part of the outer wall represent the story of Maha Ummagga Jataka while Buddhist heavens are depicted on the ceiling panels.