Located within the Yala boundaries, Situlpawwa rock temple is identified as one of the significant Buddhist sites built in the 2nd Century BC. It is believed that King Kavantissa built this rock temple. The name Situlpawwa was derived from the ancient name Chiththalapabbatha.

In ancient times, this rock temple was occupied by the Buddhist hermits, and according to literary information there had been about 12000 such monks in and around the Situlpawwa rock temple.

Historical evidence also provides information that some of the legendary Ten Giant Warriors (Dasa Maha Yodayas) such as Gotaimbara and Phusssadeva lived in the vicinity. Inside the Situlpawwa are a number of gal len (rock caves), dagoba (pagodas), Poya geval (chapter houses), bodhigara, pilimageval and pokunu (ponds).

The caves inside have been built to make it suitable for the monks to live. In addition to the main dagoba, a number of small dagobas are found inside Situlpawwa rock temple.

The main cave temple walls consists of paintings belonging to Anuradhapura period and this is a significant feature as not many paintings belonging to this period have been found.

Source: Documentation and Exploration. Section-Department of Archaeology.