It was regarded as a monzeki temple (a temple of high rank where members of imperial family and nobility enter the priesthood) in the time of the 4th Inju (the 4th chief of a temple), Shinen (a son of FUJIWARA no Tadamichi), and it was an influential tatchu along with Ichijo-in Temple in the Medieval period, with its chief priest having come from the sons of Sekkan-ke or the Shogun family.
第4代院主・信円（藤原忠通の子）の頃に門跡寺院とされ、中世には一乗院と並ぶ有力な塔頭で、門主は摂関家や将軍家の子弟から迎えていた。