Soft stone "SCHIST" was used, as the medium of their constructions. But then, in the middle of the 14th century, the Sangamas decided to go in for granite as the building material for their temples. They decided to use hard granite instead of the then popular soft Schist for three reasons. Schist quarries were situated in the heartland of the erstwhile Hoysala kingdom, where opposition to the Sangamas still prevailed. Whereas granite was available on the site in plenty, it was also a very economic medium as compared to Schist. So, they would rather spend the money saved on their campaigns and for defense purposes. Lastly, a rich architectural tradition in granite was already available in Tamil country, which was readily made use of by the rulers.