The temple is built in typical dravidian style. The temple is now a gazetted National Monument and is managed by the Hindu Endowment Board. Over the years, the temple compound has been expanded and renovated until it became what it is today. Finally in 1823, the current South Bridge Road site was finally granted to Pillai for the purposes of erecting a Hindu temple. However, that too did not work out as the 1822 Jackson Plan allocated the Stamford Canal area for other uses. The British Resident of Singapore, William Farquar, then let Narayana Pillai occupy a site near Stamford Canal in 1821. However, Telok Ayer Street lacked a convenient source of fresh water which was needed for Hindu temple rituals. It was where most early Asian immigrants first landed in Singapore and went to pray and give thanks for a safe sea journey. Initially, the British authorities allotted land for a Hindu temple along Telok Ayer street which ran alongside Telok Ayer Bay, which also serves as the site of the Thian Hock Keng Temple and the Nagore Durgha Shrine. It may seem ironic that in that era where people were largely segregated by race a Hindu temple would be built in a predominantly Chinese area. The initial temple was simple and made of wood and attap.Narayana Pillai also installed ‘Chinna Amman’ (small goddess) as a representation of Mariyamman. With his success and generosity, he soon became one of the leaders of the Tamil community then in Singapore.
He also entered the textile trade and rapidly established himself in business. Narayanna Pillai then set up Singapore’s first construction company. It was founded by Narayanna Pillai, a government clerk who came to Singapore from Penang along with Sir Stamford Raffles (the founder of modern Singapore). The chinatown Mariamman temple stands as the oldest temple in Singapore since 1827.