"Shoji Engi Shu" (a book describing the history of every temple) contains the theory that it was built in 584, but from looking at the age of objects that have been excavated from the Kawara-dera Temple ruins, such as tiles, it is unlikely that it was built that early.
『諸寺縁起集』には敏達天皇13年（584年）創建説を載せているが、川原寺跡からの出土遺物（瓦など）の年代から見て、そこまでさかのぼるとは考えられない。