The record of discovery of dotaku can possibly track back to the description in "Fuso Ryakki" (A Brief History of Japan) saying it was found during the construction of Sofuku-ji Temple in Shiga District in Omi Province in the seventh year of Emperor Tenchi's reign.
銅鐸が発見された記録は、『扶桑略記』の天智天皇7年、近江国志賀郡に崇福寺を建立するのに際して発見された記述が最古であろうという。