Taiwan Religious Culture Map

Shi-men Kwan is located on the front left side of the Haiyin Temple complex. It is one of Taiwu Mountain’s twelve scenic spots. Shi-men Kwan is a small arched stone masonry gate measuring less than five meters in height. On the lintel above the gate, a horizontal plaque inscribed by late Ming dynasty Confucian scholar Luo Ruo-teng describes Taiwu Mountain as “Hai Shan Di Yi”—first among island peaks. According to The Record of Taiwu Temple’s Reconstruction, the phrase had its origin in the saying “Kinmen is the most famous island in the sea, while Taiwu Mountain is the best-known of all the island peaks.” It is thought that Shi-men Kwan’s narrow single entranceway was originally designed for self-defense, and the temple’s previous gate and walls are believed to have been built on a much larger scale. Presently, Shi-men Kwan serves as Haiyin Temple’s entrance gate.
 

The Ancient Cave is located behind the Main Hall. It is Haiyin Temple’s oldest structure. The unique structure was created by arranging and shaping giant boulders to form a man-made cave. It is believed the cave was built during the Song or Ming dynasties. The cave is a valued historical structure that epitomizes the integration of artifice and natural materials that was prevalent in Chinese landscaping at the time.

Anxin Rock is located below the Main Hall. It is a granite boulder discovered in the ground at the site where Haiyin Temple was eventually built. According to local belief, the rock endows those who touch it with supernatural abilities. The glass wall behind the rock is inscribed with a prayer for tranquility (anxin), which can be achieved by touching one’s heart with the left hand, touching the rock with the right hand, and silently intoning Buddha’s name.
 

Anxin Rock Hall is located next to Anxin Rock. The hall displays many of Haiyin Temple’s relics, including building materials used in renovations, granite dating from the Ming dynasty, and numerous Buddhist paintings and calligraphy. Its most unusual collection is a series of pottery arhat sculptures from an unknown era. The sculptures were found buried in the ground during temple renovations and were excavated, but by then many were already in pieces. The temple asked experts to piece the sculptures back together, and subsequently put the mended sculptures on display in Anxin Rock Hall. The arhat sculptures wear intriguing expressions on their faces and are extremely lifelike in appearance. The meticulous attention paid to detail in depicting their elaborate garments is impressive.

Haiyin Temple’s Main Hall is located behind the Guanyin Hall. It was built in the 1970s. The hall has a hip-and-gable roof. The layered slopes of the roof give it the appearance of a double-eaved structure. In fact, the upper section is built with a load-bearing purlin structure. This construction method is more commonly adopted in structure with lesser width, in which purlins are directly supported by the gables at each end. This method can reduce the amount of building materials needed. The lower section was built with reinforced concrete on a traditional stone base. The Main Hall enshrines the Shakyamuni Buddha. Its façade is divided into three sections, and its only internal supports are two great pillars at the rear of the hall. In a variation from typical Main Hall design, there is only one entrance. The exterior walls were constructed in brick and stone.

The bell and drum towers are freestanding buildings located in front and to the sides of the Guanyin Hall. This layout is unusual, as the bell and drum towers are connected to the main hall in most temples. Haiyin Temple’s bell and drum towers were added in 1968 and are also known as the Dragon Tower and the Phoenix Pavilion. The antique bell in the bell tower was procured by a Zen master who traveled to Japan in 1898 to raise funds for the casting of the bell.
 

Haiyin Temple’s sculpture park contains thirty-two statues of Guanyin, the deity enshrined in the temple. The statues represent the thirty-two manifestations of Guanyin described in the Buddhist Lotus Sutra. The statues depict the ways in which the deity manifests itself when appearing to sentient beings.