The place has an interesting story. It is said that when the Vaishnavite saint Tirumangaialwar came to this place the hill was surrounded by water. So he had to wait in the village down below for a six month period until the water drew back. Thus the place came to be known as Neer malai.

The temple at the bottom has a three-tiered Rajagopuram with a single prakaram. The deities enshrined here are Neervannan facing south, Animaamalar Mangai and Chakravarti Tirumagan. The hill temple has three sanctums. Facing the east is the image of Shanta Narasimhan in seated position. Ranganathar is seen in reclining position whereas Trivikraman (Nadandan) is in standing pose. There is also a separate sanctum for Ranganayaki. This temple can be reached by a flight of 200 stairs. The sacred tank is the Manikarnika Tataakam. The annual celebrations are conducted during the Tamil months of Panguni (March-April) and Chittirai (April-May).