Brihadeswara temple is situated at:

Major temples commissioned by a ruling dynasty are generally built at or near that dynasty's capital, and a monument's location can be verified against the temple's inscriptions and current-day ASI/UNESCO heritage listings rather than assumed from the dynasty's broader territory.

The Brihadeeswarar Temple (also known as Brihadishvara or Rajarajeswaram) was built by the Chola king Raja Raja Chola I around 1010 CE at his capital, Thanjavur, in present-day Tamil Nadu. It is constructed almost entirely of granite, its vimana (tower) rising over 60 metres, and it is inscribed by UNESCO as one of the "Great Living Chola Temples" along with the temples at Gangaikondacholapuram and Darasuram.

• Orissa (Odisha) is associated with the Eastern Ganga dynasty's temples, such as the Sun Temple at Konark — a separate dynasty and monument from this Chola temple.

• Calicut is a Kerala port city ruled by the Zamorins, with no Chola-era vimana temple of this kind.

• The Deccan plateau is linked to dynasties such as the Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas and monuments such as the Ellora caves — a different region and tradition from the Chola temple town.

Thanjavur is therefore the temple's location.