The temple was erected at the Anping Ferry in 1668, on the site that is now occupied by Anping District's Shih-Men Primary School.[1] Erected soon after Koxinga's successful invasion of Dutch Taiwan in the name of the Southern Ming resistance to the Qing Empire,[2] it is thought to be the oldest extant Mazu temple on Taiwan Island.[2] It housed statues of the Deities brought by Koxinga from Meizhou off the Fujian coast, the site of Mazuism's chief temple.[3] The chief idol of Mazu is soft-bodied, with jointed feet, hands, and fingers and bound feet.[3] It holds a fan in its right hand and a handkerchief in its left.[3] It has tablets from the Guangxu Emperor of the Qing (c. 1880) and from presidents Li Denghui and Chen Shuibian of the Republic of China.[3] It was demolished by the Japanese[4] and has been rebuilt several times, most recently in 1976[4] and 1994.[5]