The temple traces its origins to a vegetable garden, founded by Chen Gaoren () in the Sui dynasty (581–619) and would later become a Buddhist temple. In the Baoda period (943–957) of the Southern Tang dynasty (937–976), it was known as "Dasheng Temple" (). It was renamed "Sengqie Temple" () at the dawn of Northern Song dynasty. In 1125, Huizong Emperor honored the name "Chongfa Chan Temple" (). In the reign of Hongwu Emperor (1368–1398) of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), its name was changed to "Chongfa Buddhist Temple" (). Because the southeast corner of the temple had a bell tower, it was also more commonly known as "Bell Tower Temple". The temple was devastated by the Taiping Rebellion during the ruling of Xianfeng Emperor (1850–1861) in late Qing dynasty (1644–1911), and was restored and rebuilt in Guangxu period (1875–1908).