The Hatadage was originally two stories high, built of stone, brick and wood, with a tiled roof.
Three Buddha statues represented past, present and future, though only one remains, standing atop a lotus plinth. Some of the 54 stone pillars remain.
It is one of the oldest structures, having been constructed by Vijayabahu (the first of the three kings) to house the relic of the tooth of the Buddha.
The shrine is surrounded by a stone wall. A doorway adorned with stone carvings lead to a stone-paved terrace.
The base of its walls are decorated with lotus flowers and lions.
A Tamil inscription explains that the protection of the tooth relic was by a hired Tamil army, not by the Sinhalese.
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