Penghu Tianhou Temple
Main Deities
About
Step into Penghu Tianhou Temple and the ground beneath your feet belongs to the oldest Mazu temple in Taiwan — founded before 1604 and, by documentary evidence, the very first Mazu temple on Taiwanese soil, dedicated to Mazu (the Empress of Heaven). It holds the oldest stone stele in the Taiwan-Penghu region, the tablet recording how the Ming general Shen Yourong 'ordered the withdrawal of the red-haired barbarian Weimalang' — that is, expelled the Dutch — in 1604; in 2022 the Ministry of Culture designated it a national treasure. A National Monument since 1983, the temple preserves a wealth of intact Qing-dynasty wood carving, stone carving, and painting — a living textbook for anyone wishing to see the architecture of Taiwan's earliest temples.
History
The exact founding date is lost, but a standoff at sea fixed the temple firmly in history. In 1604, the Dutch East India Company commander Wijbrand van Waerwijck arrived in Penghu with two ships; the Fujian commander Shen Yourong sailed out with fifty warships to negotiate and pressed the Dutch into withdrawing. The event was carved onto a stone stele that then slept for over three hundred years — until an 1919 renovation of the temple brought it back to light, confirming Penghu Tianhou Temple's standing as the oldest temple in the Taiwan-Penghu region. The temple was rebuilt many times through the Ming and Qing; after Shi Lang took Penghu in the Kangxi era it underwent a major renovation, and it still preserves a great deal of Qing craftsmanship today.
Penghu Tianhou Temple
Magong City, Penghu County
Visitor Info
Address
No. 1, Zhengyi St, Magong City, Penghu County
Region
Magong City, Penghu County