[1] Since its initial establishment, suggested to be in the 3rd century AD, the stupa has undergone several reconstructions, as recently as the 1930s, due to foreign invasions of the area.

[2] Buddhist missionaries from the Mauryan Empire are believed to have been sent by Emperor Ashoka, including Bury Chan or Praya Chanthabury Pasithisak and five Arahanta monks, who brought a sacred relic (believed to be the breastbone) of Buddha and enshrined it into the stupa in the 3rd century BC.

In the mid-16th century, King Setthathirat relocated his capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane and ordered the construction of the temple in 1566.

He wrote that he was particularly impressed by the "enormous pyramid...and the top was covered with gold leaf weighing about a thousand pounds".

The encircling walls are roughly 279 feet (85 metres) long on each side and contain a large number of Lao and Khmer sculptures, including one of Jayavarman VII.