The Panakala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple is one of the eight important Maha Punya kshetrams (sacred places) in India. The eight places where Lord Vishnu manifested himself include:
• Sri Rangam
• Srimushnam
• Naimisam
• Pushkaram
• Salagamdri
• Thothadri*
• Narayanasramam
• Venkatadri
*Thotadri is said to be the present Mangalagiri.
The Mangalagiri temple has a stone pillar with a Telugu inscription. It dates back to 1520 AD. Another stone near the temple of Garudalvar has inscriptions on all four sides recording the grants during the reign of Sadasiva Raya of Vijayanagara Empire 1538 AD. The gopuram in the Temple at the foot of the hill was erected by Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu in 1807-1809.
Mangalagiri was initially under the rule of Golkonda Nawabs. Later, it came under Hyder Ali.
The annual Brahmotsavam is very important festival for Sri Panakala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy. It is believed that Dharmaraja, on the advice of Lord Krishna, began the inaugural celebrations.