A major temple of the compound was built to the glory of the God Videmal by King Manica Raja 1300 years before the nativity according to Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën written in 1726 by François Valentijn. Some consider the story of Kullakotan to be mythical based on the travails of historical figures such as Gajabahu II, Kalinga Magha or a Chola regent of Sri Lanka. Sixth-seventh century CE hymn, Pallava kingdom In the 6th century, a special coastal route by boat travelled from the Jaffna peninsula southwards to the Koneswaram temple, and further south to Batticaloa to the Thirukkovil. Koneswaram temple of Kona-ma-malai is mentioned in the Saiva literature Tevaram in the late sixth century CE by Thirugnana Sambandar. Along with Ketheeswaram temple in Mannar, Koneswaram temple is praised in the same literature canon by the 8th century Nayanar Saint Sundarar in Tamilakkam. Koneswaram henceforth is glorified as one of 275 Shiva Sthalams (holy Shiva abodes glorified in the Tevarams) of the continent, part of the "Paadal Petra Sthalam" group. The only other holy temple from Eela Nādu (the country of the temple as named in the Tamil literature) is Ketheeswaram. During this period, the temple saw structural development in the style of Dravidian rock temples by the Tamil Pallava Dynasty. This occurred when Pallava King Narasimhavarman I (630–668 CE) armies conquered the island and when the island was under the sovereignty of his grandfather King Simhavishnu (537–590 CE), when many Pallava-built rock temples were erected in the region and this style of architecture remained popular in the next few centuries. The 8th–10th century Kanda Puranam (a Puranic Tamil literature epic and translation of the Skanda Puranam) authored by Kachiyappa Sivachariar of Kanchipuram describes the Koneswaram shrine as one of the three foremost Shiva abodes in the world, alongside Chidambaram temple in Tamil Nadu and Mount Kailash of Tibet. Several inscriptions written in the Tamil and Vatteluttu scripts interspersed with Grantha characters relate to the temple from this period. Koneswaram temple is mentioned in the 10th century Tamil Nilaveli inscriptions as having received a land grant in the Tamil country of one thousand seven hundred and ten acres (two hundred and fifty four vèli) of dry and wet land to meet its daily expenses – revealing the temple's role in providing various services to the local community by 900—1000 CE. The fertile Koddiyapuram area of Trincomalee district paid one hundred