Namakkal is bounded on the North by Salem district, East by Attur taluk, South by Karur district and West by Erode. The population of Namakkal district, according to the 1991 census, is about 1.683 million. Namakkal belongs to the district of Salem and its scenic beauty is due to its situation being bounded by hilly (Kollimalai) ranges and rocks with undulatory plains. Cauvery is the main river, west and south-west, of this district.

The story connected with this place (sthala purana) is that in the fourth incarnation (Avathara) of Mahavishnu, Narasimha (a manly form with the head of a lion), after killing the demon Hiranyakasipu, was still ferocious and angry. In response to the prayers of Prahlada, the son of Hiranyakasipu and a great devotee of Mahavishnu, Lord Narasimha blessed him and disappeared in the form of a shell (Saligramam) and was worshipped in this form by Prhalada. When Mahavishnu took the incarnation Rama, as the Prince of Ayodhya, Hanuman – the Monkey faced devotee of Rama, brought the hill on which the life-saving herb Sanjivini was supposed to be, from the Himalayas. After restoring Rama’s younger brother Lakshmana back to life with the herb, Hanuman replaced the hill in the Himalayas and on his return he brought the shell Saligramam. On his return journey by air, as it was day break, Hanuman placed the shell (Saligramam) near the tank called Kamalalayam,
in Namakkal, to do his morning prayers to the Sun God (Sandhayvandanam). The goddess Mahalakshmi was doing penance to unite with her husband Mahavishnu in the Kamalalayam. After his prayers, when Hanuman tried to lift the Saligramam, he could not move it! Surprised, Hanuman prayed to Mahavishnu and the Saligramam grew into the rock Namakkal. A voice asked him to return to Sri Lanka to complete his services to Rama and return in a later age – Kaliyuga, the present age – to worship Narasimha at Namakkal. Thus, it is believed that Hanuman, brought Narasimha to Namakkal and united him with his consort Mahalakshmi. Hence, the lord of this temple is called Lakshmi Narasimha. Mythologically the fame of Mahalakshmi began to spread far and wide due to the boons she received from her husband Lord
Narasimha.

An 18 feet high idol of Hanuman, also called as Sri Anjaneya, with folded hands is found worshipping Sri Lakshmi Narasimha in the Narasimhamurthy rock Temple, on the western side of the hillock. Surprisingly, there is no
structure such as a roof and a gopuram on top of the idol of Hanuman or Anajaneya!

The Namakkal Fort on top of the rock is said to have been built during the Madurai Nayak regime. On the eastern side of this rock is the cave temple of Sri Ranganatha lying on the serpent Karakotaka. Both these cave temples, according to the Archaeological survey, were built by the Adhiyaman rulers, who ruled over Kongu during the 7th century A.D. These temples are administered and very well maintained by the H.R. and C.E. Department of the State Government and they are protected monuments of the Archaeological Department of the Government of India.

Srinivasa Ramanujan was born on December 22, 1887, at Erode, which is the home of his mother Komalathhammal. At the instance of his mother, Ramnujan went to Namakkal from Madras with his benefactor S. Narayana Iyer (Manager, Port Trust, Madras), prior to his departure to Cambridge in January 1914. Ramanujan prayed to the goddess Namagiri by sitting in the center of a four pillared mandapam facing the goddess, in the Narasimha swamy Temple. It is said that they stayed in the precincts of the temple for three days, and Ramanujan got the permission of the goddess to go to England, in a dream when he was asleep. He woke Narayana Iyer and told him that his mission of getting the permission of the goddess to go to England was accomplished.

At the top of the rock, the beautiful looking ramparts of a fort provide an excellent background to the cave temples at the foot of the hillock on the eastern and western sides. A mosque is also at the top of the hillock.