These are the largest known Inca ruins in Ecuador. The most significant building is the temple of the sun, an elliptically shaped building constructed around a large rock. The building is constructed in the Incan way without mortar in most of the complex. The stones were carefully chiseled and fashioned to fit together perfectly. The temple of the sun was positioned so that on the solstices, at exactly the right time of day, sunlight would fall through the center of the doorway of the small chamber at the top of the temple. Most of this chamber has fallen down.
The Incas were not the first inhabitants of Ingapirca. It had long been settled by the Cañari indigenous people, who called it Hatun Cañar.
The castle-complex presents a Inca-Cañari origin. The objective of its construction is uncertain. The complex played an important role on military strategies as a fortress and provisions to troops on north Ecuador. A common criteria of archeologists states that the main objective for its construction was linked to cult of sun.
It is said that the Inca Túpac Yupanqui during the expansion's campaigns of the Inca-Empire trough south Ecuador, met the Cañari "Hatun Cañar" tribe and had difficulties to conquered them. In a second attempt, political strategies lead him to married the Cañari princeses and improving the cañari city of Guapondelig calling it Pumapungo (nowadays Cuenca).
In this way, the Inca allied the Cañari and they decided to settle their differences and live together peacefully. The Canari people built this complex for the Inca Huayna Capac. They renamed the city and kept most of their individual customs separate. Although the Inca were more numerous, they did not demand that the Cañari give up their autonomy.
At Ingapirca they developed a complex underground aqueduct system to provide water to the entire compound.
As a cult edification, people had numerous ritual celebrations on the
