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Located in the bustling area of Qijin, Kaohsiung City, the Qijin Tianhou Temple has been dedicating itself to the worship of the sea goddess Mazu for over three hundred years. According to historical records, in AD 1673, a Fujian fishermen Xu Ahua was stranded by typhoon and settled at Qijin. He then invited six families and brought the branch deity of Mazu from Meizhou, Taiwan, making it the first Mazu temple in Taiwan as well as the oldest temple in Kaohsiung. Subsequently, the temple underwent several renovations, with the present-day Tianhou Temple built upon the foundation of its 1926 reconstruction. The architecture of the Qijin Tianhou Temple follows a Huinan-style temple design, characterized by two halls, five gates, two guard rooms, a swallowtail-shaped roof, and decorative motifs of two dragons supporting an immortal scholar. The temple is adorned with intricate woodcarvings, stone carvings, colored sculptures, and clay mosaics. These embellishments showcase a rustic, ancient folk charm and vivid vitality. Among the temple's remarkable artworks, such as door gods, beam carvings, murals, reliefs, and flat paintings, are masterpieces created by the renowned painter-architect Chen Yufen. The delicate craftsmanship of these artworks exemplifies the wisdom and dedication of the master artisans, reflecting the temple itself as a treasure of artistry worth close observation. Over more than 300 years of incense offerings, the Tianhou Temple also preserves significant cultural relics, including the original Mazu statue brought from China in 1673, a stone statue of the "Huayie General," an anchor stone used upon arriving in Taiwan, a stone incense table; a bronze bell from 1886, and two stone tablets documenting the historical context from government and civilian records at the time, among others. Beyond being a central place of Buddhist faith in the local region, the Tianhou Temple also symbolizes the three-century journey of ancestors crossing the sea to pioneer and develop Taiwan. Amidst the continuous smoke of incense, the eternal guardianship of Mazu towards the common people and the preservation of folk traditional art remain deeply meaningful, inspiring us to reverently study and pass on this cultural heritage for eternity.