It is said to have been built during the reign of Empress Suiko (593-628) in Shigino, now part of Osaka City's Joto Ward. The mountain's name, Shigisan, comes from the area, and the temple's name, Hoanji, comes from the koan (prayer for spreading Buddhism) dedicated to the temple. It was originally the shrine temple of Ikukunitama Shrine, but after Hideyoshi's castle construction, it was moved to the current location of Ikukunitama Shrine. The Tokugawa shogunate bestowed upon the temple 300 koku of land on the temple. Since then, successive Osaka castle lords have been deeply devoted to Hoanji. However, during the Meiji Restoration, the temple lost its land due to the anti-Buddhist movement. The temple's head priest, Tatsue, rebuilt it at its current location in 1879. However, it was later tragically destroyed by fire again in a massive air raid in March 1945, reducing the building to ashes. Fortunately, the Shokannon and Kangiten statues survived the fire, and Hoanji's head priest, Tatsue, rebuilt them, and they remain to this day.