Ratu Boko Temple site is not the temple but the remnants of an empire. This place is often called Kraton Ratu Boko, the king, had a daughter named Rara Jonggrang. The word "Keraton" comes from the word Ka-ra-tu-an, which means the king's palace. The estimated Ratu Boko site was built in the 8th century AD by the Buddhist Syailendra dynasty but later was taken over by the king of Mataram Hindu. The transition resulted in the building owner of Kraton Boko being influenced by Buddhism and Hinduism.
Ratu Boko temple was discovered in 1790 AD by a Dutch archaeologist named H.J. De Graaf. In 1790 Van Boeckholtz found again the ruins of ancient buildings. His discovery of the site was published, thus attracting some scientists like Makenzie, Brumun, and Junghun, who did a recording site in 1814. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Ratu Boko site was investigated by FDK Bosch. Research results are reported in the article titled Rate van Kraton Boko. When Mackenzie doing research, he found a statue depicting a male and female-headed God embraced. Also among the stones found a stone pillar with the animal picture, such as horses, elephants, and others.
Ratu Boko site found a stone inscription dated 792 AD, called Inscription Abhayagiriwihara. Rakai Panangkaran built Ratu Boko temple. Abhayagiriwihara inscription was written using the letters pranagari, which is one of the hallmark features of Buddhist inscriptions. In the inscription, it mentioned that the king had ordered the construction of Tejapurnama Panangkarana Abhayagiriwihara. The same name is also referred to as the inscription Kalasa, Mantyasih inscriptions, and inscriptions Central Wanua III. According to experts, the word Abhaya means peace, and Giri means mountain. Thus, Abhayagiriwihara means monastery built on a peaceful hill. During the reign of Rakai Walaing Kombayon Pu 898 years until 908, Abhayagiri Vihara was renamed the Walaing palace. Ratu Boko temple occupies a wide area, consists of several groups of buildings, and is mostly still broken.