Shiding Guniang Temple

A yin temple fronting onto Yongding River in the mountains of Shiding. It is dedicated to Wei Bian (魏扁), a woman of the Qing dynasty who died unmarried and was buried in the vicinity. Landowner Zeng Gui (曾桂) acquired the site during the Japanese colonial era, developed an intractable foot ailment, and only recovered after building a shrine to her spirit in 1918. According to Taiwanese tradition, women who die young or unwed cannot be enshrined in a family ancestral hall, so relatives bring their spirit tablets here for veneration. Devotees leave makeup, earrings, and hairpins as offerings, and the temple is credited as the origin of the Taiwanese custom of borrowing “lucky money”, or facaijin (發財金), from a deity.