Chonggui Tianbao Temple Introduction
From the Tou She Basin, take Provincial Highway 21 towards Shui Li Township. Along the way, on the right side of the highway, you will see a towering statue of the Prince God, marking the location of Tiangbao Temple in Wudeng Village. There are two theories regarding the origin of the name "Chonggui" (銃櫃). One theory suggests that during the Qing Dynasty, indigenous people frequently ambushed travelers near the Land God’s A-Ling (土地公鞍嶺) along the Water Sand Link Ancient Trail, which led the Qing government to station militia troops there to protect merchants traveling between the two areas; an ammunition depot was established at that time, hence the name "Chonggui." The other theory states that after Taiwan was ceded to Japan, the residents in the Sun Moon Lake area, in order to prevent the Japanese army from entering, defended themselves from a high ground near the Land God’s A-Ling, confronting the Japanese forces, which is how the area got its name. Tiangbao Temple was built during the Japanese colonial period, and the main deities worshiped are the Three Benevolent Lords (Guan Yu, Lü Dongbin, and the Kitchen God). The temple is grand in appearance. In the fall of the 74th year of the Republic of China, Prince Marshal was commissioned to guard Tiangbao Temple and, due to his repeated displays of divine power, the Benevolent Lords issued an edict to the devotees to build a statue of Prince Marshal, 6 meters and 2 feet tall, behind the temple to showcase the miraculous protection of the townsfolk by the Prince God. The impressive height of the Prince God statue has since become a prominent landmark of Chonggui.
