kodachadri seems to have attracted the attention of humankind since early prehistory. several monolithic structures or menhirs were built here in prehistoric times. rocks with dimensions greater than 12 feet were used in their construction. these large structure can be found just 20 kilometers outside of nagara-nilsakal. a temple dedicated to the ancient mother goddess mookambika is located near the top of the peak. the temple is a popular destination for hindu pilgrims and it is said to stand where thousands of years ago mookambika fought and killed the demon mookasura. in historic times, people used to trek from nagara state, a nearby place and europeans trekked to the peak during the 19th century. lewin bentham bowring, who served as commissioner of mysore between 1862 and 1870, records that kodachadri is "clothed with splendid forests, and the ascent is very steep indeed in one place near foot...the view from the top of the hill, which has a bluff appearance from the distance, though it is as sharp as a knife in reality, is very fine, commanding a long stretch of great ghat range, a considerable portion of canara (kanara), and a wide view over malnad". he further records that, kodachadri is visible from merti peak near sringeri.