The Kedareshvara temple is located in the town of Balligavi, near Shikaripura in the Shimoga district of Karnataka state, India. Dotted with centres of learning (agrahara), Balligavi was an important city during the 11th - 12th century Western Chalukya rule. The term Anadi Rajadhani used in medieval inscriptions to describe this town tells a tale of great antiquity. Art historian Adam Hardy classifies the style involved in the construction of the temple as "Later Chalukya, non mainstream, relatively close to mainstream". He dates the temple to late 11th century, with inscriptional evidence of additions made up to 1131, by the Hoysalas during their control over the region. The building material used is soapstone. The Archaeological Survey of India classifies the style of architecture as distinctly Hoysala. The Hoysala ruling family was during this period a powerful feudatory of the imperial Western Chalukya Empire, gaining the trappings of independence only from the period of King Vishnuvardhana. The temple is protected as a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India.