Bentota has been identified as the ancient Bhimatirtha and the area is also described in ancient messenger poems (
sandeśa kāvya). It is believed that the
Galapatha Viharaya (which is referred to in chronicles
Mahavamsa and Pujavaliya by the name Bhimatittha Viharaya in Pasyodun District) was maybe a cluster of five ancient temples in the region. The 13th-century rock inscription at Galapatha Viharaya also mentions the name Bhimatittha. In the 17th century the Portuguese built a small fort at the mouth of the Bentota River (Bentara Ganga), which in
Sinhala was called Parangi Kotuwa, meaning the fort of the Portuguese. The river marked the southern extremity of Portuguese-held territory in Sri Lanka. The Dutch subsequently allowed the fort to fall into disrepair, converting one of the large buildings within the fort into a colonial rest house for Dutch Officers travelling between
Colombo and
Galle. The British subsequently converted the rest house into a coastal
sanatorium. Sir
James Emerson Tennent (1804–1869), the
colonial secretary of
Ceylon (1845–1850) in his book,
Ceylon, An Account of the Island (1859), stated that the rest house at Bentota was situated within a little park, deeply shaded by lofty
Tamarind trees on the point of the beach where the river forms its junction with the sea. He wrote that stated that this rest house was one of the coolest and most agreeable in Ceylon. The British introduced the railway in the early 19th century, mainly to transport the coconut produce from the deep south to the capital, building a permanent bridge (Bentota Palama) to cross the river. ==Transport==