Under the Five Great Mountains, there are Five Towns, and the Mountain God Temple in the Northern Town is no ordinary place

I visited the Northern Town once and gained new knowledge. It turns out that there is a hierarchy in the worship of mountain gods. It makes sense, after all, they are like civil servants, and clear division of duties is crucial.

Walking into the Northern Town Temple, even before reading the introduction, you can tell the status here is special. Along the central axis from south to north are arranged the stone archway, mountain gate, Shima Hall, Imperial Incense Hall, Main Hall, Changing Room Hall, Inner Incense Hall, and the Sleeping Palace. The scale and layout silently declare that the owner here is a big figure.

It turns out the Northern Town Temple worships the Mountain God of Yiwu Lü Mountain, the head of the Five Towns. This is also the largest and best-preserved mountain-guarding temple still existing. "One Northern Town Temple is half the history of China's mountain-guarding temples," which perfectly summarizes the uniqueness of the Northern Town Temple.

When it comes to the Five Great Mountains, probably few people don’t know them. But the Five Towns? Maybe not many are aware. The Five Towns refer to Northern Town’s Yiwu Lü Mountain, Eastern Town’s Yi Mountain, Southern Town’s Kuaiji Mountain, Western Town’s Wu Mountain, and Central Town’s Huo Mountain. Their rank is below the Five Great Mountains, but they also embody the political ideal of "Under the heavens, all land belongs to the king." If the Five Great Mountains represent the emperor’s divine authority, the Five Towns are the feudal lords managing regions under imperial power. They guard their lands and protect the people, symbolizing how the common folk rely on their local mountains for sustenance.

As the head of the Five Towns, Yiwu Lü Mountain has been the site for imperial sacrificial ceremonies since the Sui Dynasty. It was also the birthplace and spiritual home of the Liao dynasty royal family. The name "Yiwu Lü" itself is a transliteration of the Donghu language "Yikeaoli," meaning "Great Mountain." This famous northern mountain is steeped in stories in every stone and soil, naturally giving the Northern Town Temple a distinct political significance.

Although most of the ancient buildings in the temple today are new, I think it’s definitely worth the visit. Not only is the architectural style grand and imposing, but it also houses many treasures, such as a stele forest of 56 ancient stone tablets from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties (including one inscribed by Emperor Qianlong himself), 32 Ming dynasty portraits of meritorious officials on the walls of the main hall (there is some debate about the dating of the murals, but they are worth seeing), the ruins of Qianlong’s Guangning Palace, Qing dynasty stone lions depicting "joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness," and more. Plus, it’s not crowded and the scenery is beautiful. The only regret is that when I visited, the temple was still under expansion and renovation, so I didn’t get to see the final appearance.

However, I heard that the craftsman’s ink marks from the 17th year of the Yongle reign on the beams of the west annex hall were only discovered during repairs a few years ago. Maybe some regrets are just fate’s hidden surprises, telling us that there is a long future ahead and that its story will be told slowly.

Post by TastyTemptations | Oct 21, 2025