[7][8] Legends attribute the constructing of the temple by the Trapusa and Bahalika merchants of the 4th century BCE, bringing with them the hair relics of Gautama Buddha.

[9][10] Scholars holds the view that Mahayana influenced seafaring merchants from the Pallava Kingdom were responsible for the construction of this temple.

[11] A 7th century AD inscription found in the Girihandu Seya temple, written in Sanskrit language with the South Indian Pallava Grantha script, indicates the presence of the Avalokiteśvara cult in Sri Lanka.

[17] Thiriyai has traditionally been connected with the Koneswaram temple in Trincomalee and the Kandaswamy malai hill is referred as Kanthathiri in the Tamil text Thiruppugazh.

[18] The Vaiya Paadal, a 17th-century Tamil historical text, refers to Cupatittu, a Brahmin, who ruled Thiriyai in the 15th century.