Yapahuwa Kingdom is located about 03 miles east of Mahawa town in the Mahawa Divisional Secretariat Division of the Kurunegala District in the North Western Province.

 Archaeologically significant Yapahuwa became more popular in the history of Sri Lanka after being selected as a 13th century kingdom.  Furthermore, evidence of human activity has been found in Yapahuwa since prehistoric times.

 AD  With the fall of the kingdom of Rajarata in the face of Magha's invasion in 1215, the kingdoms gradually migrated southwest and local rulers came to power in an unstable political background.

 According to the Mahavamsa, during this period the auspicious general built a fort at Yapahuwa and took control.
 Later, with the decline of the Dambadeniya Kingdom, King Buwanekabahu I (1272 - 1284 AD) used the Yapahuwa Kingdom as the capital of the island for 12 years.

 Later, in the late 13th century, after the collapse of the Yapahuwa Kingdom in the face of Pandyan invasions, Yapahuwa became an uninhabited city.
 Back in the Kandyan period, Yapahuwa was converted into a temple by King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe.