This pagoda dates probably back to the Nanzhao period, contemporary to the Three Pagodas and the Snake Bone Pagoda. But it was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and later reconstructed. 

The style is similar to the other Nanzhao pagodas, but it lacks a top. The reason for this is unclear, but some folk stories go that building the pagodas was a competition and this one was never finished. 

Today, this pagoda is part of a small tourism complex on the eastern side of Erhai, with an entrance fee levelled.