Using the attached project, and running ./gradlew help --configuration-cache generates output that looks like:

See the complete report at file:///usr/local/google/home/gavra/AndroidStudioProjects/agp_r8_issue/build/reports/configuration-cache/9wxp91p2vo4elheo9l878on3/cp5w42eqidvt9dg0devnkz56f/configuration-cache-report.html

Opening the HTML report shows that kotlin-android plugin reads AndroidManifest.xml, causing configuration cache to be invalidated when manifest changes (see attachment).

Note that the project is using org.gradle.internal.instrumentation.agent=true property that triggers this detection.