According to the temple's legend, the tower has existed from the very beginning when Kukai founded the temple, but commonly it is thought that even the upper story does not date back to the time in which Kukai lived and that actually the tower was built around the end of the Heian period.
寺伝では空海による創建当初から現存する建物というが、上層部分も空海の時代まではさかのぼらず、平安時代末期頃の建築とされる。