Magul Maha viharaya is reputed to a temple built to mark the place where King Kavan Tissa of Ruhuna wed Vihara Maha Devi. Devi was the daughter of King Kelani Tissa who was set her a drift in a boat to appease the gods when a pious priest was wrongly killed and the land of Kelaniya was flooded by a natural disaster. She is supposed to have made land fall in Pottuvil where the spot is now marked by a temple, the Muhudu Maha Viharaya.

She went to become the Queen consort of Kavan Tissa and mother to the warrior King Duttu Gamunu and King Saddhatissa.

According to archeology, several Kings have renovated and supported this temple over the centuries. The four entrances to the temple is exactly aligned to the four cardinal directions. The moon stones seen here is different from those in other parts of the country. This has horses with riders on them.