Jing Mountain Temple

Jing Mountain Temple

Jing Mountain Temple is a cultural heritage site protected by Ninghai County.

In the late Song Dynasty, the Ge clan of Quanshui moved to Shuiche, and in the Wuchen year (1328) of the Zhihe era of the Yuan Dynasty, they built “Jing Mountain Temple,” placing a statue of Immortal Ge on the base of a well. In the Renxu year (1661) of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, to cut off Zheng Chenggong’s food supply, the Qing government issued the Coastal Evacuation Decree, forcing residents inland and resulting in the destruction of the temple. In the Gengwu year (1670) of the Kangxi era, villagers returned to their homeland, and the Ge clan, together with the Chen, Pan, and Xie families, rebuilt the temple. In the Wushen year (1788) of the Qianlong era, Chen Yuanpei’s father created the statues of the deities. Jing Mountain Temple is located atop a small hill on the eastern bank within the Shuiche area, surrounded by lush, verdant trees.

The current layout of “Jing Mountain Temple” reflects the architectural style of the early Qing Dynasty, though some components may date back to the Yuan or Ming Dynasties.

Built on a mountaintop, the temple’s main gate faces south with a single-eave, flush-gable roof, covering a construction area of 180 square meters. It has a single door between vertical posts, constructed with wooden panels and a stone threshold.

The main hall features a flush-gable roof, spanning three bays with a total width of 9.8 meters and a depth of 8.6 meters. The ridges on the east side are missing, while the central ridge is adorned with a stacked-relief kylin, auspicious clouds, and a treasure orb at the apex. The roof structure uses seven beams with single-step beams both front and rear. The eave porch has a coffered ceiling, with the column-top bracket sets using open-heart construction, and an additional “one-dou-three-sheng” bracket set above the rafter ends, supporting the eave purlin. The central bay has four bracket sets, with round wooden columns used for the inner golden columns of the central bay, while the rest are square stone columns. The center of the central bay features an octagonal caisson ceiling with a stacked bagua design, nine overlapping rafter ends shaped like descending dragons, gradually converging toward the central mirror, which is painted with the Taiji diagram of Yin and Yang fish. The interior beam frame includes bracket sets, and the rear eave porch lacks a coffered ceiling, with remnants of a Buddhist shrine still visible. All beams and frames are colorfully painted. Beneath the central deity’s seat is a well covered with a stone slab, hence the name “Jing Mountain Temple.”

The entrance hall is five bays wide, spanning a total width of 13.4 meters and a depth of 3.25 meters. The east and west wing rooms are each 9.1 meters wide and 2.9 meters deep.

“Jing Mountain Temple” was built relatively early, adapting to the terrain with a compact and exquisite design. Especially notable is the main hall, constructed with a combination of stone and wood, featuring a rugged caisson ceiling in a stacked bagua pattern, and a well beneath the central deity’s seat. The architectural style of the main hall is unique within the county and provides a rare example for the study of local temple architecture.