Shoushanyan Guanyin Temple is also known as Lingding Temple (""Ridgetop Temple"") because of its location in the area once called Guilunling (""Guilun Ridge""). It is said that the temple was founded in the 7th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing era (1742 CE), when a Hokkien monk named Teng Ting-kuo (dates of birth and death unknown) brought a statue of Buddhist bodhisattva Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) from Mount Putuo to Taiwan. When passing through Shoushanyan, he received a divine revelation that instructed him to build a straw hut temple to enshrine the statue. In the 58th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1793 CE), Fujian fleet admiral and Taiwan division commander Hadangga (? -1799 CE) prayed at the temple. Later, in the 60th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1795 CE), Hadangga called upon the local gentry to raise funds for building a proper temple to thank Guanyin for her blessing. Construction of the temple was completed in the 2nd year of Emperor Jiaqing's reign (1797 CE), and the temple was named ""Shoushanyan Temple"". In the 4th year of the Taishō era (Japanese colonial period; 1915 CE), locals raised funds to renovate the temple, hiring Chen Ying-pin (1864-1944 CE) to oversee the project, which defined Shoushanyan Guanyin Temple's layout and appearance. The temple structure is decorated with a wide array of paintings and carvings, while the walls feature decorative murals and intricate, fascinating reliefs that have profound historical and artistic value.
Looking at the Shoushanyan Guanyin Temple from the Lingxiao Hall at the back of the temple, the layer-by-layer changes in the roof show the beauty of Taiwan’s traditional Chinese architecture
The inner wall of the temple is inlaid with several stone steles built in the past, which are important historical materials for understanding the history of Shoushanyan Guanyin Temple
The frame of Sanchuanmen is two-way and three-meat, and the melon tube is made of elephant seat and lion seat.
The "Boundless Dharma" plaque presented by Lin Wencha, the admiral of the Fujian Navy, in the 3rd year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1864)
Ci Fan Guang Ji by Hardang Axian in the 2nd year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (1797)
Shoushanyan Guanyin Temple worships Guanyin Buddha
The "Old Road Kengzhuang" inscribed by the dragon column is one of the five pits of Shoushanyan Guanyin Temple
Sanchuanmen's door god painting preserves the works of Xu Liancheng, a famous painting artist in the north after the war
Shoushanyan Guanyin Temple belongs to the architectural pattern of two falls, two corridors and two dragons