It is said that this temple was founded during the Kanpyo era (889-897) and originally located in Tsutsui, Sofunoshimo County, Yamato Province (today's Yamatokoriyama City), which was the Tsutsui clan's base, but the precise details of the foundation and its pre-medieval history have not been confirmed.
当寺は寛平年間（889–897）の創建と伝え、元は筒井氏の本拠地である大和国添下郡筒井（現・大和郡山市）に所在したというが、創建の正確な経緯や中世以前の歴史については定かでない。