Lolei was the last of the three temples to be built as part of the city of Hariharalaya that once flourished at Roluos, and in 893 the Khmer king Yasovarman I dedicated it to Shiva and members of the royal family.

The name "Lolei" is thought to be a modern corruption of the ancient name "Hariharalaya,"[1]: 98, 112  which means "the city of Harihara."

Once an island temple, Lolei was located on an island slightly north of the centre in the now dry Indratataka baray,[2]: 60  construction of which had nearly been completed under Yasovarman's father and predecessor Indravarman I. Scholars believe that placing the temple on an island in the middle of a body of water served to identify it symbolically with Mount Meru, home of the gods, which in Hindu mythology is surrounded by the world oceans.

[3] Lolei consists of four brick temple towers grouped together on a terrace.

Some of the motifs represented in the lintels and other sandstone carvings are the sky-god Indra mounted on the elephant Airavata, serpent-like monsters called makaras, and multi-headed nagas.