Da Tian Hou Temple is commonly known as a Ma Chu Temple of Tainan- the first Ma Chu Temple built by the government in Taiwan. The god worshipped in Da Tian Hou Temple is The Heaven God Mother, or widely called Mother Ma Chu, the most worshipped god in the Taiwanese society. The Da Tian Hou Temple was originally the palace of Emperor Ning Jing of the Ming Dynasty. In the 22nd year of Emperor Kang Si (in 1684), after admiral Hsih Long had occupied Taiwan, he found that Ma Chu was mostly worshipped by the Taiwanese people and as a way to easy their hard feeling towards foreign rule, he then reported to the emperor and requested to have the Ning Jing Palace rebuilt into a Ma Chu Temple and promoted Ma Chu toTian Hou, meaning the Heaven God Mother. Since then the Ma Chu temple is called Da Tian Hou Temple. Da Tian Hou Temple can be divided into 4 main parts : the Sa Chuan Hall, the Worship Hall, the Main Hall and the Back Hall. The lively large sized Ma Chu statue is the main feature of the Temple. It was the master piece of a sculptor from Chuan Chou about 300 years ago and is the representative work of Taiwan's sculpturing of its kind.

In all temples, there are door guarding gods. To shows its class, the door guarding gods in theDa Tian Hou Temple are not by drawing but decorated by nails. Besides, owing to its unique status, there are numerous plates from well known scholars and VIP's and some of them even endorsed by emperors of different dynasties, making them of so much historical value. At the two sides on the walls of the Worship Hall there fitted two pieces of stone tablets. One of them was set up in the 24th year of Emperor Kang Si (year 1685) by admiral Hsih Long, laying down the whole invasion process of Taiwan as well as how to soothe and manage the people thereafter. This stone tablet is the earliest Ching tablet now being kept in Taiwan. TaTien Hou Temple is full of architectural features as well as things of cultural heritage. Visitors just feel like walking into some ancient art exhibition halls. Everything is so valuable and worth studying.

The Da Tian Hou (Great Queen of Heaven) Temple was built in 1684 for the worship of Taiwan's most popular deity; Matsu, Goddess of the Sea. Matsu is the patron deity of fishermen, and her birthday on the 23rd day of the third lunar month (it falls in April or May) is celebrated each year with frenetic explosions of colorful activity. The goddess is usually flanked by two guardians, Eyes that See a Thousand Miles and Ears that Hear on the Wind; these are said to have once been malevolent spirits who were reformed by Matsu's example and now use their powers to help her do good works. A secondary deity in this temple is the Old Man under the Moon, a sort of matchmaker god worshipped especially by unmarried men and women.

They believe that all they need do is pray to the god for a red "matrimonial thread" or apply their rouge before him and they will quickly find a mate.

Public Conveyance
By Bus :
From Tainan Railway Station, take No. 2, 5, 7, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18 city bus to Si-Men stop, then switch to No. 27 city bus to Great Queen of Heaven Temple (Datianhou Temple) stop.

By Car :
Drive through Yongkang interchange; follow Provincial Highway 1 to Tainan City, after turning into Gonyuan Road, take a right turn into Minju Road, and link to Sec.2, Yongfu Road to Great Queen of Heaven Temple (Datianhou Temple).
Tainan City Travel information from : THSR High speed Rail (http://www.thsrc.com.tw/en/destination)