When Gyoji came here in Tempyo 2 (730), fascinated by the scenery of the area, he carved a statue of a 1000-arm Kannon. The enshrinement of that statue in a rock grotto marks the origin of this area. Since then, believers among travelers traversing Tokaidou have gathered here. The Kannon statue of the Iwaya mountaintop was constructed in Meiwa 2 (1765). However, because of delivery during the Pacific War, the current statue is one that was reconstructed in Showa 25 (1950). In the ceiling boards of the temple dedicated to the Kannon in the south part of Mt. Iwaya, pictures of Yoshida at the time of construction, such as a picture of Onda Ishimine, were drawn by Yoshida (the old name of Toyohashi) painters. Also, the area around Iwayakannon has been set up as a park. In the the spring, a cherry blossom festival is hosted, which draws a lot of visitors.