Xingguo Jindou Mountain Temple

Xingguo Jindou Mountain Temple

Xingguo Jindou Mountain Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Jindou Mountain Temple is located 1.2 kilometers southeast of Shiyan Village, Changgang Township, Xingguo County, at 25 degrees east longitude and 26 degrees 18 minutes north latitude, about 8 kilometers from the Red Army Bridge in the county town.

The ancient temple is named Jindou Mountain Temple. Legend has it that it is surrounded by water on three sides. As early as the Han and Wei dynasties, Monk Lu traveled here and regarded it as a geomantically auspicious site for Buddhism. He went up the mountain to meditate and attained enlightenment, eventually achieving Buddhahood. Nine years later, he disappeared without a trace. Later generations named the place where Monk Lu practiced Buddhism "Lu Chan Rock." To this day, the stone rust on the cave wall where Monk Lu meditated still bears his seated image. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, a temple named Huyou Temple was built here. In the late Tang Dynasty, the imperial geographer Yang Jiu-pin and his disciples climbed the mountain to assess its feng shui and described it as resembling a sleeping lion, with nine mountain peaks shaped like lions. Once the nine heads awakened one after another, becoming "Nine Lions Crossing the River," it would surely bring immense prestige and produce many military officials to stabilize the nation. Later, someone built Yinpai Temple halfway up the mountain, which was destroyed during the Yuan Dynasty. By the Qing Dynasty's Qianlong era, a elder surnamed Zhong from Langmu invited devotees from various places to raise funds and rebuild the temple at the mountain top, renaming it Jindou Mountain Ancient Temple. It was again destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and was rebuilt in the late 1990s. According to ancient folklore, there was first the Nanshan Temple at Yanziwo, then Jindou Mountain in Shuaxia. By the early Song Dynasty, the Guanyin of Nanshan Temple had moved to the Lingshan Cave, referred to as the "Flying Buddha." Thereafter, Jindou Mountain flourished in incense offerings, and 18 large and small temples were subsequently built in the surrounding areas.

The feng shui origins of Jindou Mountain Temple trace back to Longtou Mountain in Fengbian, Dawu Mountain, Fangshan Ridge, Xiaowu Mountain, Ningshan Fort, Lingshan, to Hualongjian, branching from Yanziwo to Jindou Mountain, and extending down to the Shuixia area beneath the Incense Burner Peak.

The mountain range is truly majestic and often resembles animal shapes, commonly referred to as the "Nine Lions, Eight Elephants, and Seven Phoenixes." It is a place where even geomantic masters would "find joy and forget to return." Even if Yang Jiu-pin were alive today, he might not be able to describe them all. Moreover, the sixteen scenic spots and numerous legends of Jindou Mountain can delight the heart and refresh the spirit, such as: Shungao Stone, Incense Burner Peak, Immortal Turtle Worshipping Buddha, Windmill Knob, Child Stone, Ninety-Nine Bends, Lu Chan Rock, Rice-Producing Rock, Vegetable Garden Rock, Pearl Spring, Prime Minister Stone, Nine Catfish Opening Their Eyes, Nine Masters Crossing the River, Snake Neck, Fish-Catching Cave, and Dragon Descending to Water. Around the Nine Catfish Eyes (the ancestral tomb of Zou Jun from the Qing Dynasty), there are eight additional scenic spots: Stone Gate, Old Stone Nest, Octagonal Pavilion, White Bamboo Beach, Iron Wire Gate, Mouse Along the River, Longevity Palace, and Nine Catfish Opening Their Eyes. An ancient poem praises: "Heavenly light descends, earth virtue ascends, twenty-eight constellations align in the nine heavens, shining brilliantly, seventy-two mountains race in all directions, undulating majestically, veins circulating, uniquely defining nobility and humility, with towering peaks and ridges stretching endlessly, dividing earth and wood, gold left and right, beholding the dragon towers and palaces, only to admire Lingshan, observing the celestial bodies’ spiritual essence, indeed it is Jindou."

According to folklore, the feng shui master Lai Buyi, after studying under Master Zeng Shiqi in Sanliao and returning through Xingguo, also climbed Jindou Mountain to assess the county’s feng shui, leaving behind the following lines: "The Incense Burner Peak hangs over the Heavenly Pool, the Cinnabar Stove dwells in the secluded valley. The elephant rests nearby, the immortal phoenix soars above the upper guard. The wasp-waisted gorge, the sun and moon as porters, the drums and horns in solemn array, flags and banners bundled together. Behold the layered peaks, as thousands of mountains follow in attendance. Witness the vast waters, as myriad streams converge into the formation. If thus, the land is auspicious in the front, surely the people will be outstanding in the future. The Edict Axis and the Literary Tower face each other, in coming years one shall achieve success in the imperial examinations. The golden banners in the clouds spread wide, in days to come blessings and fortune will abound. Alas, the elite behind the enemy lines, guarded by spirits and ghosts."