King Harikesari Parakkiramma Pandian , the king of Tenkasi between 1428 and 1460, wanted to construct a temple for Lord Siva at Tenkasi. He went to Benaras (Kasi) and worshipped the Lord and brought a Sivalingam from there. While returning from Benaras to Tenkasi with Sivalingam the King and his army were too tired and they decided to take rest under the "Vilva" trees (now the Sivan Kovil). They spent a night over there.

In the early morning the King got up and made preparations for his journey. But the Cow which carried the Sivalingam refused to move from that place. The Queen also attained her puberty. On the account of various incidents , the King placed the Sivalingam where he rested and built a small Temple at that place itself and performed Poojas.

Accordingly, the Sivalingam was enshrined in the month of Vaikasi at Rohini Star and worshipped the Sivalingam. Normally Temple will be dedicated for a town, but to a great dismay after the advent of the temple this town was formed around this temple and hence the town was named as Sivakasi.

In 1559, the King of Madurai Thirumalai Naicker send his younger brother Muthu Veerappa Naicker to Sivakasi as the Regirdhar (Governor) . He came to Sivakasi and realized the worth of Lord Siva. He build the Sivan Kovil and all facilities and Sculptures. The forest around the temple was made into a living place.

Till 1920 this town was in the status of Union Panchayat in G.O.No:779 dated 14-6-1920 . Govt. has constituted the Sivakasi Town Panchayat as a Municipality with effect from 1-10-1920 , and then the Govt. appointed Revenue Divisional Officer Sri.T.S. Ramasamy, B.A.B.L., as an Ex. Officio Chairman of the Council consisting of 12 members nominated by Govt. This Nominated body was continued up to 1923-24.

From the year 1924-25 the council was represented by the elected body of the people and Thiru P.S. Ramasamy Nadar was the first elected Chairman of the Municipal Council of Sivakasi . At that time, this town was divided into 12 wards and 16 counsilors.  Later the Strength was increased to 24 and revising the town into 22 electoral wards with 2 reserved seats one for Schedule Caste and the other for women. The strength of the Council was further revised as 30 and the wards have been revised as 28. The Municipality attained the status of 2nd graded Municipality from 28-9-1971 and as 1st grade from 1-10-1978 . The area of the Municipality at the time of constitution was 227 acres.

Now Sivakasi is a Municipal town which is situated in Virudhunagar district of Tamilnadu state is in South India . Sivakasi is at +106.07 meter above sea level . This town is located at 9.28 North latitude and 77.48 East longitude . This town is about 6.89 sq. kilometers.

With the grace and mercy of Lord Siva the city became popular for its renowned products like Matches, Fireworks and Printing.