Prambanan Temple is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia. Until now, it is not certain when this temple was built and on whose orders, however, there is strong suspicion that Prambanan Temple was built around the middle of the 9th century by the king of Wangsa Sanjaya, namely Raja Balitung Maha Sambu. This assumption is based on the contents of the Syiwagrha Inscription found around Prambanan and is currently stored at the National Museum in Jakarta. The inscription dating from 778 Saka (856 AD) was written during the reign of Rakai Pikatan.

The original plan of Prambanan Temple is rectangular, consisting of an outer courtyard and three courts, namely Jaba (outer court), Tengahan (middle court) and Njeron (inner court). The outer yard is an open area that surrounds the outer court. The outer court is longitudinal with an area of 390 m2. This court was once surrounded by a stone fence which is now in ruins. The outer court is currently only an empty courtyard. It is not yet known whether there were any buildings or other decorations in this courtyard.