Shinshuji temple served as a model for the temple in literary master Toson Shimazaki's famous novel Hakai (Transgression). A stone monument bearing the first line of the book can be found on temple grounds. Originally founded during the Kamakura period (1185 - 1333), the temple found its current home in 1604.
A conflagration in 1952 destroyed most of the temple buildings, including the mountain gate and main hall. Of those standing at the time of Shimazaki's visit, only one temple structure remains. Today, the grounds have been repurposed as Chuo Kindergarten, serving dozens of Iiyama children.