The principal image of Kasagi-dera Temple is a large image of Miroku carved into the surface of a rock and the temple had flourished as a sacred place of Miroku worship since the Heian period.
笠置寺は磨崖仏（まがいぶつ、自然の岩壁に直接彫り刻んだ仏像）の巨大な弥勒仏を本尊とする寺で、平安時代以降、弥勒信仰の聖地として栄えた。