In the ancient texts, Sithulpawwa Rajamaha Viharaya is also known as Chiththala Pabbatha and is situated in Kirinda, in the Hambanthota District. Stone Inscriptions have depicted this site as “Chithala Paawatha Vehera.” This temple complex has been ascribed to King Kavanthissa who governed the country’s southern region at the time.
Sithulpawwa is known as a place where there lived at one time thousands of Arhaths. According to folklore it is said that here lived a novice monk named Thissa who reached the state of Arhath and later a stupa was constructed enshrining his remains and hence its name Tissa Thera Chetiya.
Sithulpawwa Rajamaha Viharaya includes a big amount of stupas, cave temples, Buddha statues of a stupa house and image houses spread over a big region of land. A cave temple with ancient paintings believed to belong to the 3rd century BC is among these. These sketches were made on the rock surface on a thin layer of plaster, where only red and yellow colors were used.
The primary stupa was constructed on the flattened top of a rocky mountain. One could arrive at this stupa using two methods of travel, which are from the North and South. The Maluwa area’s walls were constructed using big rocks. You can see the remains of many structures on the stupa’s northern side.
A large number of priceless artifacts were discovered from the excavations on this site, including a picture of the goddess Thara in a seating position and numerous sculptures of the Buddha. On the primary cave temple you can see two statues of the Awalokeswara Bodisattva. One of these is dressed as a royal, the other as a sage.
According to the great Mahavansa chronicle, King Vasaba constructed 10 stupas in the Sithulpawwa (then Chiththala Pabbatha) According to stone inscriptions King Mahallaka Naga (134-146) constructed stupas and donated property to the temple, and in 659 A.C. the regional King Dappula of Rohana donated the village called Gonmitigama. This village was recognized today as Gonagala.