The history of Koh Ker temple is linked to the obscure figure of King
Jayavarman IV, about whom scholars cannot agree whether he was an
usurper or not. About five years before he became king, Jayavarman IV
left the then capital of Angkor Yashodharapura (which was under the
reing of his uncle) and he established at Koh Ker. By moving the capital
to this distant area King Jayavarman IV divided the empire and to do so
he must have have held considerable power as a military leader. In 1880
Louis Delapore visited the site whilst undertaking a broader study of
the Angkor temples. There has not been restoration works at the temple
and archaeological surveys were undertaken by cambodia teams in the
1960s but these studies were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge regime.