Qishan Tianhou Temple is the center of traditional religion in Qishan District. The temple is home to Mazu, the Goddess of Heaven, and has a long local history. It was funded by Luohanmen administrative officials and merchants during the Qing Jiaqing era. Although Qishan Tianhou Temple has undergone numerous reconstruction and renovation, it still retains a traditional style and continues to demonstrate traditional temple aesthetics.
Tianhou Temple’s spatial design is a typical Minnan structure filled with traditional wood and stone carvings, paintings, as well as colorful and vividly shaped clay sculptures. In addition to its architecture, precious cultural relics are preserved in the temple halls, such as the Mazu sculpture (soft body Mazu) estimated to date back to the Qing Dynasty, stone tablets from the Qing Dynasty, plaques from the Daoguang era, and bells forged in the Guangxu era as well as during Japanese rule. Qishan Tianhou Temple's architecture and its cultural relics hold significant historical and artistic value, in addition to emphasizing the temple’s long history and elevated status in Qishan folklore.
006 旗山天后宮
旗山天后宮為旗山區民間信仰的核心，廟內主祀天上聖母，建廟歷史悠久，是清嘉慶年間由羅漢門地方官員、仕紳與商家等共同出資興建。旗山天后宮雖曾歷經重建、整修，但仍保留傳統樣式沿襲至今，極具傳統廟宇美學。
天后宮的空間格局是典型的閩南廟宇，各處皆充滿傳統木雕、彩繪、石雕，以色彩豐富、造型熱鬧的剪黏和泥塑作為裝飾。除天后宮本身建築之外，天宮后更保留了眾多文物，如推測刻鑿於清代的鎮殿媽祖神像（軟身媽祖）、清代石碑、清道光年間的匾額、清光緒年間所鑄造之鐘、日治時期所鑄造之鐘等，皆為珍貴的文化資產。因此不論就旗山天后宮建築本體，或是典藏之文物，都相當具有歷史與藝術價值，亦突顯了旗山天后宮在旗山民間信仰中的悠久歷史與地位。
文／黃于津
圖／高雄市政府文化局