Plaosan Temple, which is a Buddhist temple, is estimated by experts to have been built during the reign of Rakai Pikatan of the Hindu Mataram Kingdom, namely in the early 9th century AD. One expert who supports this opinion is De Casparis who adheres to the contents of the Cri Kahulunan Inscription (842 AD). The inscription states that Plaosan Lor Temple was built by Queen Sri Kahulunan, with the support of her husband. According to De Casparis, Sri Kahulunan was the title of Pramodhawardani, daughter of King Samarattungga of the Syailendra Dynasty. The Princess, who was a Buddhist, married Rakai Pikatan of the Sanjaya Dynasty, who was a Hindu.

Another opinion regarding the construction of Plaosan Temple is that the temple was built before the reign of Rakai Pikatan. According to Anggraeni, Sri Kahulunan refers to the mother of Rakai Garung who ruled Mataram before Rakai Pikatan. Rakai Pikatan's reign was too short to be able to build a temple as large as Plaosan Temple. Rakai Pikatan built the ancillary temples after the construction of the main temple.

In October 2003, in the complex near the Ancillary Temple in the Plaosan Kidul Temple complex, an inscription was found that is estimated to be from the 9th century AD. The inscription, made of gold plates measuring 18.5 X 2.2 cm., contains writing in Sanskrit written using Old Javanese letters. The contents of the inscription are still unknown, but according to Tjahjono Prasodjo, the epigrapher assigned to read it, the inscription strengthens the assumption that Plaosan Temple was built during the reign of Rakai Pikatan.

Plaosan Lor

Plaosan Lor Temple is a large temple complex. In front (west) of the Plaosan Lor complex there are two pairs of Dwarapala statues facing each other, one pair located at the north entrance and one pair at the south entrance. Each of these human-height statues is in a sitting position on its folded right leg with its left leg bent in front of its body. His right hand holds a mace, while his left hand rests on his left knee.

In the northern courtyard there is a square-shaped stone terrace surrounded by a row of stone pedestals. It is suspected that the stone terrace was a place-to-place offerings. It is said that on the terrace there used to be a wooden building, while on each pedestal there used to be a statue of Dhyani Buddha.

A similar but smaller terrace is also found in the south of the Plaosan Lor Temple complex. In the northern courtyard of the Plaosan Temple complex there are also 6 large stupas.

In the center of the Plaosan Lor Temple complex there are two two-story buildings which are the main temples. Both buildings face west and are each surrounded by a stone fence.

The stone walls that fence each main temple are surrounded by ancillary temples which originally numbered 174, consisting of 58 small temples with a square base and 116 stupa-shaped buildings. Seven temples line each of the north and south sides of each main temple, 19 temples line the east or back of the two main temples, while 17 more temples line up in front of the two main temples. Almost all of these ancillary temples are currently in ruins.

At each corner of the row of ancillary temples there is another small temple surrounded by two rows of pedestals which are also interspersed with another small temple at each corner.

On the west side of the stone fence surrounding each main building there is a gate in the form of a paduraksa gate, with a roof decorated with a row of small crowns. The peak of the gate roof is square with a small crown on top.

Each main temple building stands on a foot about 60 cm high without a corridor surrounding its body. The stairs leading to the door are equipped with stair cheeks that have dragon head decorations at the base. The door frame is decorated with carvings with floral motifs and tendrils. Above the threshold there is a Kala head decoration without a lower jaw.

Along the outer walls of the two main temples are decorated with reliefs depicting men and women standing in sizes that are close to real human size. The reliefs on the southern temple wall depict men, while those on the northern temple depict women.

The interior of the two main buildings is divided into six rooms, three rooms are located below, while the other three rooms are located on the second floor. The plank floor that separated the two levels is no longer there, but on the walls you can still see the grooves where the floor was installed.

In the central room there are 3 Buddha statues sitting in a row on a padadmasana facing the door, but the Buddha statue in the middle has disappeared. On the walls on the left and right of the room there are niches that appear to be places to put lighting. The niches are flanked by reliefs of Kuwera and Hariti.

On the left and right, near the main door, there are connecting doors to the side rooms. The arrangement in the other two lower rooms, both in the northern and southern buildings, is similar to the arrangement in the central room. On the east side there are 3 Buddha statues sitting in a row on a padadmasana facing west. The Buddha statue in the middle has also disappeared.

Plaosan Kidul

Plaosan Kidul Temple is located south of Plaosan Lor Temple, separated by a highway. While in the Palosan Lor complex the two main temples still stand majestically, in the Plaosan Kidul Temple complex the main temple is in ruins. Only a few ancillary temples are still standing.