Ambagamuwa Rock Inscriptions

Two inscribed rock surfaces on the summit of Akuruketugala-kanda, a hill near Sellipigama, about 400 metres off the Nawalapitiya-Ginigathhena road. The larger face measures roughly 12 feet 3 inches by 9 feet 3 inches and carries 33 lines of text; the smaller, 9 feet 4 inches by 9 feet 7 inches, carries 25. The letters are cut between ruled lines set about four inches apart. One of the two rocks has developed a crack, reportedly from the roots of a nearby breadfruit tree.

The inscription belongs to King Vijayabahu I, who drove Chola forces from the island and ruled from Polonnaruwa. It records his parentage and his victory, then turns to pilgrims: almshouses, a terrace, walls, gateways, and paddy fields set aside for the upkeep of the Sri Pada shrine. One passage describes a terrace built below the sacred footprint itself, so that worshippers of lower caste, barred from the upper terrace, could venerate it from a set distance. The text corroborates the Mahavamsa's account of Vijayabahu establishing ambalamas, wayside rest houses, along the pilgrimage route.

The site was gazetted as a protected monument on 3 December 1948. It sits today on a small, fenced triangular plot nominally kept by the Department of Archaeology - no signboard names it, and the upkeep is modest.