One theory has it that the old location of this statue was Tachibana-dera Temple in Asuka ("Horyu-ji Okagami" [The Great Art of the Horyu-ji Temple], 1917), and according to a theory by Ryoshin TAKADA (the 208th kannushi [Shinto priest] of Horyu-ji Temple), it was transferred from Chugu-ji Temple in Ikaruga (a town in Ikoma County, Nara Prefecture), among other theories; yet none of them is confirmed and it remains completely unclear how, when, and by whom this statue was made, and in which temple it was enshrined.
この像の旧所在については飛鳥の橘寺とする説（『法隆寺大鏡』、1917年）、斑鳩の中宮寺から移したものとする高田良信（法隆寺208世管主）の説などがあるがいずれも確証はなく、本像がいつ、どこで、誰によって造られ、どこの寺に安置されていたものか、正確なことは全く不明である。