It is part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Koyasan complex includes:

• Kongobu-ji, built by Kūkai in 816 as the principal stage for esoteric Buddhism on an 800m high mountain basin,
• Jison-in, built as an administrative office to facilitate the construction and management of Kongobu-ji,
• Niukanshofu Jinja, constructed as a guardian shrine to protect the Niukanshofu estate of Kongobu-ji, and
• Niutsuhime Jinja, situated in the Amano basin between Kongobu-ji and Jison-in. Closely connected to Koyasan, it enshrines Koya Myōjin who, legend tells, gave land to Kūkai when he choose the compound of Kongobu-ji, and Niu Myōjin, who guided him, and all of them are connected by the pilgrimage route Koyasan Choishimichi.

• List of National Treasures of Japan (sculptures)

• Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range

34°17′42.69″N 135°33′0.67″E / 34.2951917°N 135.5501861°E / 34.2951917; 135.5501861