According to legend, the first temple structures were built here a few years after the death of the Buddha by five Kings of the Sri Gotupura Kingdom. The chedi is said to be built during the 10th century at a height of around eight meters. At the end of the 17th century the chedi was reconstructed and raised to about 47 meters.
The Fine Arts Department restored the chedi in 1941 and raised the chedi again to its current height of 57 meters. During very heavy rains in August 1975 the Wat Phra That Phanom temple complex was badly damaged.
The Wat was closed and the Buddha relic had to be moved to another location. The Fine Arts Department helped by considerable donations from Thai people completely rebuilt the chedi which took four years to complete. A gold spire of 16 kilos was put on top of the chedi and the Buddhist relics were once again enshrined.
There are several more structures on the temple complex, including an ubosot (ordination hall) and a number of Buddha statues.