The museum was built in order to house the artifacts and archaeological findings discovered around Trowulan and its vicinity.

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, governor of Java from 1811 until 1816 reported the existence of ruins of temples scattered about the country for many miles.

[2] It was established by Henri Maclaine Pont, a Dutch architect and archaeologist, and the Mojokerto regent Kanjeng Adipati Ario Kromodjojo Adinegoro.

A newer museum is also proposed for the area [5] and the location has been proposed as a World Heritage area [6][7] Today the museum not only houses the archaeological relics from Majapahit era, but also collects and displays various archaeological relics discovered all over East Java.

Among the objects on display, include the famous portrait statue of Airlangga portrayed as Vishnu mounting Garuda, from Candi Belahan.