The temple is one of the shrines of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams. It was glorified in the early medieval Tevaram poems by Tamil Saivite Nayanars Tirugnanasambandar and Thirunavukkarasar.
It is believed that in this temple, a drop of water falls on the Shiva linga every 24 minutes from the ceiling. This is because of the presence of a special stone called Chandrakanth kept on the roof. This stone absorbs moisture from the surrounding air and converts it into drops of water. The temple attracts huge crowds due to this speciality.
Another speciality of this temple is that Lord Brihaspati, who is worshipped as Guru Bhagavan, has a separate sanctum with a separate vimana inside the temple complex. This is the only place where one can see Guru Bhagavan in standing posture with four hands, holding weapons and a book. Chitra Pournami and Guru Peyarchi are the most important festivals of the temple.
In the Tamil language, 'thittai' means mound. Once, when Pralaya occured, there was destruction all over the world. Lord Brahma and Vishnu worshipped Lord Shiva for protection. After searching for a safe place, they found this only mound, which did not get destroyed by the Pralaya. There was a Shiva Lingam on the mound.
They performed puja to the Lingam and worshipped Lord Shiva, who appeared before them and deligated their duties of creation and protection.