 Englishman D. R. Fyson, a long-time resident of Madras (now Chennai), wrote a concise book on the city titled "Mahabalipuram or Seven Pagodas", which he intended as a souvenir volume for Western visitors.In it, he states that the Pallava King Narasimharavarman I either began or greatly enlarged upon Mahabalipuram, circa 630.Archaeological evidence has not yet clearly proven whether Narasimharavarman I's city was the earliest to inhabit this location.