Gunung Wukir 2.11

Gunung Wukir temple, or Canggal temple, or also known as Shivalinga is a Shivaite Hindu temple dated from early 8th century, located in Canggal hamlet, Kadiluwih village, Salam subdistrict, Magelang Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The temple dates to the year 732, making it the first structure attributed to the ancient Mataram kingdom, which ruled Central Java from 732 to around the middle of the tenth century.LocationBecause of its relatively remote location, the temple site rarely appears on the itineraries of foreign tourists. But it possesses some historical importance owed to its links with the formation of the Central Javanese Mataram kingdom. The temple is located on Wukir hill, which the locals refer to as Gunung Wukir ("Mount Wukir", or "carved hill" in Javanese), on the western slopes of Mount Merapi volcano. The hill is located approximately 4 kilometres southeast from the town of Muntilan. Gunung Wukir temple can be reached by following the direction to the Ngluwar subdistrict by turning west from the Semen intersection, on Yogyakarta-Magelang main road. The Kadiluwih hamlet in Canggal, is connected to the Ngluwar road by a small walking trail that leads up to the hill plateau, approximately 300 meters above sea level.HistoryThis temple is the oldest surviving temple in Southern Central Java, connected to the Canggal inscription discovered within the temple ruins in 1879. According to the inscription, the temple was founded during the reign of King Sanjaya from the Mataram Kingdom, in 654 Saka (732 CE). This inscription contains a lot of information related to Medang Kingdom or Hindu Mataram. Based on this inscription, Gunung Wukir temple might originally called Shivalinga or Kunjarakunja.