Shibawang Temple Introduction
The full name of the Eighteen Immortals Temple is Qianhua Eighteen Immortals Shrine, with Qianhua referring to Qianhua Village in the Shimen District. Local people call it Ali Bang. The Eighteen Immortals Temple has long been a place of thriving incense offerings. According to legend, during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, a sailing ship carrying 17 Fuzhou merchants and a dog capsized while heading to Putuo Mountain in Zhejiang. The ship unfortunately sank, and it drifted to Qianhua Village in Shimen, where everyone on board drowned, except for the dog, which survived. The residents, after finding the dog, buried it at the foot of the mountain. The dog saw its master perish and subsequently died from grief, and the residents buried it alongside the merchants. Eventually, during festivals, nearby residents would come to offer incense and worship, and over time, they referred to it as the Eighteen Immortals. It is said that from that point on, when local fishermen encountered difficulties at sea, they would often see the Eighteen Immortals manifesting to save them. As a result, the people pooled resources to build a small temple for worship. After the shrine was built, miraculous events increased, and the followers gradually spread throughout the northern coast, eventually making it a well-known temple in northern Taiwan. The Eighteen Immortals represent the worship of both humans and dogs, and since dogs carry a common impression of loyalty among people, many believe that by sincerely offering prayers to the dog, they can win its loyalty in return. To this day, the legend of the Eighteen Immortals has made this small temple by the mountain a must-visit tourist attraction for travelers along the northern coast. People come to explore the legend, seek divine intervention and protection, or simply to smell the aroma of the delicious sticky rice dumplings, a specialty of the area. It is said that the sailors of that time would carry convenient sticky rice dumplings to offer in prayer for safety while at sea. The combination of peanuts, preserved vegetables, mushrooms, and braised pork may seem ordinary but creates an unexpectedly delicious flavor that visitors cannot resist taking home. The tasty dumplings have even become a specialty of the Shimen area, available for purchase throughout the streets of the Shimen District. Source: North Coast and Guanyinshan Scenic Area.
