The original complex is believed to have been built by Pallavas, with later expansion by Cholas, while the present masonry structure was built during the Vijayanagara Empire during the 16th century. There are three rock-cut caves from the Pallava regime during the 10th century. The current Draupadi Amman shrine is believed to have been a Murugan temple. There are inscriptions from lot of medieval and later Chola emperors like Rajaraja Chola I (985–1014), Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120), Vikrama Chola (1118–1135), Kulothunga Chola II (1133–1150), Rajadhiraja Chola II (1166–1178), Kulothunga Chola III (1178–1218), Rajaraja Chola III (1216–1256) and Rajendra Chola III (1246–1279). There are inscriptions from Pandya kings like Maravarman Sundara Pandyan (1216–1238) and Maarvarman Vikrama Pandiyan. The contributions of the kings of the Vijayanagara Empire like Krishna Deva Raya (1509–1529), Sadasiva Raya (1542–1570) and Kampanna Udayar are also found in the inscriptions. There are also inscriptions from the Sambuvaraya period, during the regime of Sagaloga Chadravarathi Rajanarayana Sambuvarayar. In all, there are a total of 96 inscriptions in the temple compiled in the Annual Reports on South Indian Epigraphy for the year 1902 in numbers 386–391, year 1905 number 26 and year 1935 number 111–195. Rajanarayana Sambuvaraya was a chieftain of Medieval Cholas whose contributions are documented in his inscriptions across various temples in modern-day Villupuram, Cuddalore, Tiruvannamalai and Kanchipuram districts and also in his Sanskrit work Madhuravijayam. He repaired, revived the services and inaugurated festivals of the temple. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Architecture This temple is situated in Arakandanallur, a town panchayat in Viluppuram district, located 2 km from Tirukoilur on the Tirukoilur - Viluppuram highway. The temple is located on the northern banks of Then Pennar River. The nearest railway station is at Tirukoyilur and the nearest airport is Chennai International Airport. The Shiva temple at Arkandanallur is spread over an area of . The main rajagopuram is on the West side with seven tiers and pierces the large rectangular granite walls. The temple tank, Indra Theertha, is located from the temple. The temple is built on a granite hill and there are two corridors inside the temple. The main shrine accommodates the image of Shiva known as Atulya Nadheswarar in the form of Lingam. There is a separate shrine for Azhagiya Ponnazhagi to the right of Atulya Nadheswarar's