The temple is located near the banks of Mahamaham tank. This temple has two prakarams (outer courtyard) and a 72 ft high Rajagopuram. The temple has a nava kanniyar aka nava kannigais (Nine rivers) in the form of deities worshiping Shiva and hence the temple is referred as 'Nava Kanniyar' temple.The nine river deities depicted are Ganges, Yamuna, Narmada, Saraswati, Cauvery, Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra and Sarayu. The lingam worshipped by Rama is located in the north eastern prakaram (outer courtyard) of the temple. As per local legend, he lingam is believed to grow with time. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.