According to chroniclers such as Pedro Cieza de León and Garcilazo de la Vega, among others, this Inca temple is described as a place filled with gold, with life-size animals, humans, and plants made of solid gold, stone walls lined with gold plates, as well as the tops of the walls with cast plates of pure gold and threads of the same gold-bearing material, representing constellations and stars; hence, one of the enclosures is called the Temple of the Stars.
According to researcher Rubén Iwaki, the original name was Ccori Chanchaj, or "Where Gold Shines," and it is certain that in the eyes of the Spanish conquistadors it would have been that, not the name Coricancha; a translation as simple as the "Place of Gold" would undermine the wonder of the Inca temple. Based on some indications and evidence of extremely high technology, this would indicate that it was a center where a large amount of energy, such as electricity, was generated and flowed.