Sri Mahanaga Vihara is located near Uru Sita Lake or Maha Lake, which belongs to Thanamalwila Divisional Secretariat Division. According to folklore, this was done by King Mahanaga (307 BC), who was the ruler of the northern part of Ruhuna. Uru Sita Lake can be seen by entering the Suriyawewa road from the Pallegama intersection on the Thanamalvila Ambilipitiya road and going for a distance of about ten kilometers. There is a road leading to Maha Sri Mahanaga Temple near Ve Kandiya. After half a kilometer there, you will find the ruins of Vehere.
More famous than this temple in this area is the Maha Vapi Karmanta located here. It is mentioned in the Poojavali that the lake near the temple was built by the second king Dappula (661-664 AD) who reigned in Ruhuna. At that time it was called padikkulam. Paddi means pig in Tamil. Kulam means lake. Then the meaning here is to go to the pig lake. Later it joined the folklore and was used as Uru Sita Vava. If not, the Sri Mahanaga Temple near Uru Sita Lake was built by King Dappula II. If not, was Uru Sita Lake or Great Lake near the Sri Mahanaga Temple built by King Mahanaga, the brother of King Devanapatis, the founder of Magama Kingdom? It is difficult to conclude. But according to the legend and in keeping with the name here, it seems that Mahanaga King Mahanaga Maha Viharaya was built by King Mahanaga. Accordingly, it is clear that the lake near the temple was built after the temple. This is confirmed by considering the periods of the kings.
However, how the excellent irrigation technical knowledge of the Sinhalese who were built in Rajara at the same time was distributed throughout the country is clear from the fact that a tank like this was built in this place located at one end of Ruhuni. The old biso fort here is now preserved and safe. Above it, the image of the Naga king carved in the stone with 7 nipena, which is the ruler of water resources and rain, which describes matters related to water in the past, shows the artistry here. 4 lion figures are carved below the carving. The Naga Raja carving became so popular some time ago that it is evident from the use of the official logo of the Mahaweli Authority. The maximum water capacity of this modernized lake is about 150 hectares.
Regarding the Mahanaga temple, no matter when it was built, only the ruins of the old structures can be seen here today. The ancient Dagaba here have been vandalized by thieves. The treasure found by them in the Dagaba can be seen lying near the Dagaba. Stone pillars which are the remnants of ruined structures are scattered over an area of about twenty five acres of land which may be thought to belong to the temple. Investigating how the stone pillars are scattered here, it seems that in the past this place was like a temple complex.
Remains of two statues carved out of crystalline limestone have been found at the site. When examining those remains, there are signs that they are the statues of two kings. Apart from these remains, it was difficult to find any other remains of archaeological importance here.
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