Our real estate sources tell TMZ ... Dwayne Johnson plunked down $9,014,000 for an incredible 46-acre estate about 45 minutes North of Atlanta.

The main house is 14,791 square feet. It has 8 bedrooms, a 12-stall barn, a riding arena with a viewing deck, a pool with a pool house, and a farmhouse built in 1867 that was built for the caretakers.

And, it should be a shock to no one that The Rock paid cash.

So why, you ask, would a world-famous superstar buy a house in a town with barely 15,000 residents? The Rock's fond of small Georgia towns. Back in March ... Dwayne visited his 88-year-old aunt in Jones County and said, "Funny cause it hit me yesterday as I was driving back to Atlanta, that my life is the craziest it's ever been and I didn't know much I TRULY NEEDED to go to a place where things can really slow down for me and I can just breathe."

BUT ... it's not like The Rock will be isolated from civilization ... Powder Springs is just 45 minutes away from the nation's busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson International.