The temple is situated at Peringanadu village in Pathanamthitta district.  Peringanadu was at one time under the Kayamkulam King.  The place where the temple stands is surrounded by hills. The sanctum of Mahadeva faces the pond and behind the sanctum is the garden with the presence of serpents. There are vast open grounds on the two sides. The date of origin of the temple is unknown as the carvings have not been deciphered so far. Even before the time of the raids by Tippu Sultan, this temple was an important resting place for merchants who travelled between the port town of Kallada and Thoothukudi.  The vast lands more on the sides of the temple were used to tether the horses. There is a pond that never goes dry in this compound. The remains of the bathing ghat where the deity used to be taken for the ceremonious bath during festivals can also be seen there. There is a legend that a few men from the Kurava community came here and one of them sharpened his knife on a stone which started to ooze blood. This stone was consecrated here. It was under the leadership of Mangalasseril Potti that the consecration was done and the temple constructed.  He is still worshipped here as the owner of the temple. Formerly this temple was known as Ishaanthimangalam. There are some documents in the Secretariat at Thiruvananthapuram which shows that the name was changed to Trichennamangalam during a litigation among the Brahmins here. There is also the belief that the idol of Mahadeva was consecrated by Arjuna. The names of the localities around the temple like Nooranadu, Ivorkala, and Kunthiringaamala seem to suggest some connection with the Pandavas pointing to the assumption that they might have stayed here. The eastern part of the structure around the sanctum is believed to have been built in 982 ME according to the words carved here. The temple has all the structures that make it a major temple. There is a story that the two rival factors of Ochira failed to settle their dispute even after many meetings at various places. It was at the dining hall of Trichennamangalam temple that they arrived at an understanding. So, this is mentioned at the beginning of the Ochirakali even today. It is also believed that the Ezhara ponnana (Seven gold elephants and a half one) that are brought out during the festival of the Ettumanoor temple were made by expert goldsmiths at this temple. There are records to show that the temple was under the control of various Brahmin families at various times. In 1955 a society named Peringanadu Mahadeva Vilasam Haindava Sangham was registered and took over the management of the temple.