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The early residents of Wuqi mainly made a living by "討海" (a term referring to making a living from the sea). The plaque with the inscription "永康四海" (Eternal Peace and Prosperity over the Four Seas) in the main hall of the Chaoyuan Temple is the best illustration of this. The Chaoyuan Temple, located on the old street of Wuqi, is traditionally and respectfully referred to as the "Mazu Temple" or "媽祖宮" by the locals. The main deity worshipped in the temple is the Heavenly Mother, commonly referred to as Mazu or "媽祖婆" in Taiwanese Hokkien. The faith in Mazu is very important in Wuqi because the early residents of Wuqi made their living from fishing. Whether it was for trade with China or for fishing and offshore aquaculture, people would pray to Mazu, the sea guardian deity, for a safe and smooth journey. The Chaoyuan Temple currently preserves a statue of "開基媽" (the Founding Mazu), which was separated from the Mazu ancestoral temple on Meizhou Island, Fujian Province, China. According to legend, the statue was brought to Wuqi for worship by Lin Yinde, the Salt Transport Commissioner, who had it built in a rented temple on Meizhou Island. Later, during the Xianfeng period, a Mazu temple was built on the west coast of Wuqi. Because the Mazu statue brought to Wuqi was one of the six founding Mazu statues in the Shengtian Cave of the ancestral Mazu temple on Meizhou Island, believers refer to this statue as the "開基媽" (the Founding Mazu).