It was built on the slopes of the Mount of Temptation 350 meters above sea level, situated along a cliff overlooking the city of Jericho and the Jordan Valley.

[1][2] It currently serves as a tourist attraction and its land is under the full jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority, while the monastery is owned and managed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

[5] Palestine, including Jericho, was conquered by the Arabs under the Islamic Caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab in the 630s.

In 1895, the monastery was constructed around a crude cave chapel that marks the stone where Jesus sat during his fast.

[4] In 1998, a cable car was built from Jericho's Tell es-Sultan to the level of the monastery by an Austrian-Swiss company as a tourist attraction for the year 2000.