The temple is located on Mount Maya (699 metres (2,293 ft)) in the Nada ward of Kobe.

[1][2] Tenjō-ji was, by tradition, established during the Asuka period (538 – 710) by the semi-mythical monk Hōdō (fl.

Hōdō, by tradition, was born in India, and traveled to Japan via China and the Baekje kingdom in Korea.

Hōdō cured an illness of the Emperor Kōtoku (596 – 654), who then sent the monk to establish numerous Buddhist temples.

[3] In the 8th century, another High Monk Kobo brought back a statue of Maya, the mother of Buddha from China, and dedicated it to this temple.