There is a description in the "Nihonshoki" that an event called "Mushadaie Festival" was held at Yakushi-ji Temple in 688, which suggests that the temple buildings had been completed to some degree by that time.
持統天皇2年（688年）、薬師寺にて無遮大会（むしゃだいえ）という行事が行われたことが『書紀』に見え、この頃までにはある程度伽藍が整っていたものと思われる。