Mulgirigala Temple can be reached  after turning off at Mulgirigala Junction on the Beliatta-Weeraketiya Road and proceeding for about one mile on Mulgirigala-Makewela Road. According to a folklore a vedda has shown King Saddhatissa (137-119 A.D.) who was engaged in hunting in the forest wih his entourage, a suitable land for a monastery. Therefore Mu kivu gala  (rock shown by this fellow) has become Mulgirigala by usage. Another folklore says that this monastery had been connected to place by name Umangala in  Hakmana by a tunnell, built by a Naga king. The inscription of the 7th century A.D.  at Mulgirigala reveals that this monastery had a revered position in society. It has been accepted  that Talamuhud Giri mentioned in the Katagamuwa inscription of King Manabharana of the 12th century is this same monastery. The monastery Samudgiri Vihara built  by King Kavantissa as mentioned in the Chronicles could also be the same. Although the evidence regarding the origin of  Mulgirigala is uncertain the existance of the cave complex around the monastery and the attempts taken to maintan the monastery throughout the ages indicate that it has had the patronage of the kings from  the historical past. During the reign of King of Kandy,  Kirth Sri Rajasinghe the monastery had been renovated and some of the caves had been adorned with paintings depicting the style of the maritime provinces of the Kandyan era. During the Dutch occupation evidence of it being called Ademsberg also exists.