Taiwan Religious Culture Map

The Tianhou Temple in Nanzih is also known as Nanhe Temple, or more colloquially, simply as Tianhou Temple. It is one of Kaohsiung City's most renowned Matzu temples. The area of Nanzih was formerly called "Nanzihkeng". In the Qing era, Nanzihkeng was a prosperous commercial area in Fengshan County and an important hub for those traveling to and from Tainan. Therefore, local residents obtained a statue from the Grand Matzu Temple in Tainan to build a local Matzu temple. The Tianhou Temple in Nanzih was built in the 5th year of Xianfeng Emperor's reign in the Qing era (1855 CE), laying the foundation for the building layout we see today. The temple has two main structures with two side wings. The main hall is connected with the front gate while the rear hall and side wings stand independent of the main hall, i.e., no hallways or pavilions connect the rear hall and side wings to the main hall. The three structures are independent of one another, and only the side wings are connected to the front gate by a guoshui (small passageway between structures).