[1] The area the temple is now located at has a mineral water spring called in the Jeju language Dwaeksaemi (돽새미).

The spring was also called Doyaksaem (도약샘; 道藥泉), in reference to its supposed healing properties; this eventually inspired the name of Yakcheonsa.

[2] Around 1960, a monk named Kim Pyeong-gon (김평곤) prayed in a natural cave near the eventual site of the temple.

In 1981, a Buddhist monk named Hyein (혜인) decided to build a more permanent temple in the area, and construction began in 1988.

Construction concluded in 1996; at which point they claimed the building was the single largest Buddhist temple in East Asia.