It is the 7th temple on the Shin Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage (新西国三十三箇所) and is notable for the large number of designated cultural properties.

Akan brought an image of Kōbō-Daishi drawn by Prince Takaoka (真如親王, Takaoka-shinnō) (799–865) from Kōyasan and had it installed in the newly erected Miei Hall.

While holding memorial services for Kōbō-Daishi, a monastery consisting of a Main Hall (Kondō), tahōtō, rōmon and refectory ermerged.

During that period, three emperors of the Northern Court, Kōgon, Kōmyō and Sukō, were imprisoned in the Kanzō-in (観蔵院) subtemple of Kongō-ji.

[6] At the end of the Nanboku-chō period, the production of rice, charcoal, lumber and most notably amanosake[clarification needed] contributed to the economy of the temple.

Under the patronage of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the temple flourished and owned 307 koku land at the end of the Edo period.

Preservation works were subsidized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and Kawachinagano city for a total of 1.65 billion yen.

It is a three ken wide tower gate (rōmon) painted red, has an irimoya-style [ex 1] roof of hongawara[ex 2] type and dates to the Kamakura period between 1275 and 1332.

[ex 2] Built in 1320 it houses the temple's main object of worship: Dainichi Nyorai flanked by Fudō Myōō and Trailokyavijaya.

[5] Housed in the Kondō, the main sculptural group consists of seated statues of Dainichi Nyorai, Fudō Myōō and Trailokyavijaya and is partially a work of Gyōkai (行快), a disciple of Kaikei.

As a result of a large scale restoration and investigation in the Heisei period a writing in ink was found inside the womb of the statues, giving the date and author of Fudō Myōō.

[5][13] The temple owns a pair of National Treasure mid-16th century Muromachi period, six-section folding screens (byōbu) known as Landscape of the four seasons (紙本著色日月四季山水図, shihon chakushoku jitsugetsu shiki sansui-zu).

[18][19][20] In addition to the six structures mentioned above, Kongō-ji holds a number of Important Cultural Properties in the arts and crafts category.