The Temple of Preah Vihear, located in Cambodia's Preah Vihear province on the border with Thailand, has a long history. The earliest history of the ancient temple dates back to the 9th century A.D. It was ordered to be built by the Khmer Empire's monarch, Yayasutra.
The Temple of Preah Vihear, was built between the mid-10th and early 12th centuries AD. It stands on a 550-meter-high cliff overlooking the entire Cambodian plain. Due to its remote location and difficult terrain, Preah Vihear Temple is quite well preserved.
Both Thailand and Cambodia have historically claimed sovereignty over the area to which the temple belongs, and in 1962 the International Court of Justice in The Hague awarded the temple to Cambodia, a ruling that sparked controversy in Thailand.