From the stretch of National Highway 1 skirting the foot of the mountain, visitors turn onto a narrow lane of about two hundred to three hundred meters and immediately meet the water. The Lam River here is wide, flat, and turbid with alluvium. The temple stands on a narrow strip of land wedged between the river and the foot of Ngũ Mã Mountain in the Hồng Lĩnh range, its back almost pressed against the cliff face and its front opening straight onto the river landing. At the outermost edge stands a two-tiered triple gate topped with two dragons flanking the moon, and about eight meters inside the gate lies a crescent pond in the lowest courtyard. Ancient trees form a dense canopy, incense smoke hangs thick in the air, and the sound of a moon lute almost always drifts out from a spirit mediumship mat.
Locals call the place simply Đền Củi, named after the old river landing and firewood market on this bend of the river. Its commonly cited Sino-Vietnamese title is Thánh Mẫu Linh Từ (Sacred Temple of the Holy Mother), while the facade of the lower hall bears four Chinese characters reading Khu Độc Linh Từ tied to the name of Mount Cô Độc, and spirit mediums across the country know it as a sanctuary of Quan Hoàng Mười (the Tenth Royal Prince). Those names speak to the different layers of a single site, and keeping all of them together is the accurate way to read this temple.
IDeities venerated at the temple
Chợ Củi Temple venerates several layers of deities at the same time, and that is the first thing to grasp before stepping inside. Sources on the heritage site consistently list Tam Toà Thánh Mẫu (the Three Holy Mothers), Ngũ Vị Tôn Ông (the Five Mandarins), Quan Hoàng Mười (the Tenth Royal Prince), Chầu Mười (the Tenth Lady), and Đức Thánh Trần, namely Grand Prince Hưng Đạo Trần Quốc Tuấn. Several architectural descriptions also record a seated statue of Chiêu Trưng Đại Vương Lê Khôi in the middle hall. In other words, this is a sanctuary venerating the full Four Palaces pantheon alongside a Trần Dynasty altar, rather than a shrine dedicated to a single figure.
In the internal cosmology of this tradition, the universe is divided into palaces governed by the Holy Mothers, beneath whom ranks of deities are arranged in hierarchical order. Tam Toà Thánh Mẫu comprises Mother Liễu Hạnh presiding over the Sky Palace, Mother Thượng Ngàn presiding over the Mountains and Forests, and Mother Thoải presiding over the Waters. Beneath the Mothers stand Ngũ Vị Tôn Ông, also called Ngũ Vị Tôn Quan, five great mandarins each associated with a palace and a robe color. Below them come the Ladies (Hàng Chầu), then Thập Vị Quan Hoàng (the Ten Royal Princes), followed by the Maidens (Hàng Cô) and the Young Masters (Hàng Cậu). Quan Hoàng Mười stands last among the Ten Royal Princes in numerical order but is one of the two princes most frequently embodied in spirit mediumship rituals, wearing yellow robes during possession, and worshippers bring before him petitions concerning study, examinations, literary pursuits, and official careers.
The mortal identity of Quan Hoàng Mười is a point where sources diverge sharply, and it should be stated upfront that these are distinct accounts rather than fragments of a single story. At Chợ Củi Temple specifically, the most frequently cited account identifies him with Lê Khôi, a renowned general and nephew of Lê Lợi in the Early Lê period who governed Nghệ An, died in the Bính Dần year 1446, was buried at Mount Nam Giới by the Sót Estuary, was posthumously titled Uy Mục Đại Vương and then Chiêu Trưng Đại Vương in 1487, and is revered in the Nghệ An folk saying first Cờn, second Quả, third Bạch Mã, fourth Chiêu Trưng. Alongside this account are another identifying him with Nguyễn Xí, a famed general under Emperor Lê Thái Tổ who guarded the Nghệ Tĩnh region, a third identifying him with Uy Minh Vương Lý Nhật Quang, the eighth son of Emperor Lý Thái Tổ who served as prefect of Nghệ An, as well as the folk legend that he was the tenth son of the Dragon King of Bát Hải Động Đình who descended to the mortal world. None of these accounts has been conclusively proven.
Regarding the name Chợ Củi (Firewood Market), sources also differ. The common explanation treats it as a toponym, noting that this stretch of the river once had a wharf and market trading firewood, so the temple took the market's name. The second explanation belongs to folk legend, linking the name to the story of the general and his soldiers going into the forest to cut timber and bamboo, binding rafts to bring wood downriver to help villagers rebuild their homes after a great storm, only to be caught in a tempest at the foot of Ngũ Mã Mountain where the rafts broke apart, the general passed away, and termites heaped earth into a tomb. The library records both accounts, as one is a toponymic explanation and the other is a sacred legend, belonging to two different categories of source material.
This is a point that requires a direct historical note.
There are two principal temples both regarded as the sanctuary of Quan Hoàng Mười. One stands in Xuân Am village in Hưng Nguyên commune, Nghệ An province, bearing the Sino-Vietnamese title Mỏ Hạc Linh Từ. The other is Chợ Củi Temple in Nghi Xuân commune, Hà Tĩnh province. The two sites lie on opposite banks of the Lam River not far apart, and pilgrims following the old custom usually visit both in a single trip. The library does not adjudicate which site is the original, because no conclusive documentary evidence exists. Below are the arguments from both sides, recorded without ranking one above the other.
Those leaning toward the temple in Nghệ An point to three facts, namely that heritage records date the temple in Xuân Am village to 1634, that the temple preserves twenty-one royal investiture decrees along with a Chinese-character sacred biography concerning Quan Hoàng Mười, and that its festival was inscribed on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2019 explicitly under the name of the Ông Hoàng Mười Temple Festival.
Those leaning toward Chợ Củi Temple point out that the site was ranked as a National Heritage Site in 1993, earlier and at a higher level than the temple in Nghệ An, which received provincial ranking in 2002. This side also cites a founding date in the Early Lê or Later Lê dynasty, notes that the temple stands on the exact stretch of the Lam River at the foot of Ngũ Mã Mountain where the sacred legend places the saint's shipwreck on the timber rafts, and points out that several local introductions to Chợ Củi Temple likewise mention twenty-one royal decrees from successive dynasties.
What remains unresolved. The Sino-Vietnamese titles of Chợ Củi Temple are Thánh Mẫu Linh Từ and Khu Độc Linh Từ, and its upper hall enshrines the Three Holy Mothers in the central position. From this, some researchers argue that the site was originally a temple dedicated to Holy Mother Liễu Hạnh, where Lê Khôi already found a small thatched shrine when he arrived to govern the region, while Quan Hoàng Mười was added as a co-venerated deity later on. Conversely, worshippers and numerous documents still call it the Temple of Ông Hoàng Mười directly, a usage established over many generations. Both observations are factually true. What is missing is a definitive historical publication settling which shrine came first. Until such evidence appears, the library records both sides without taking a position. Readers may consult the entry on Ông Hoàng Mười Temple for the other half of the story.
IIBeside the Củi wharf
The founding date of the temple has no exact year on record. Most sources state broadly that it was built in the Later Lê dynasty, while some press accounts such as Công Lý Newspaper state that it originated in the Early Lê period or existed as a small thatched shrine when Lê Khôi came to govern Nghệ An. The library maintains that same caution rather than guessing a specific year. What stands today is the result of successive restorations, with the clearest architectural layer reflecting the late Lê, early Nguyễn, and Nguyễn dynasty styles.
- Lê dynastyFounded beside the Củi wharfSources record that the temple was erected during the Later Lê or Early Lê period, initially as a small thatched shrine on the strip of land beside Củi wharf on the lower Lam River at the foot of Ngũ Mã Mountain.
- Late Lê to early NguyễnArchitectural form establishedThe temple was roofed with tiles and expanded in the shape of the Chinese character tam (三), consisting of three parallel halls aligned along a sacred axis with distinct Nguyễn dynasty architectural features.
- 1993National heritage siteThe Ministry of Culture and Information ranked the temple as a National Historical, Architectural, and Artistic Heritage Site under Decision No. 57/QĐ-VH on January 18, 1993.
- 2014Major restorationThe temple underwent extensive restoration and embellishment during this campaign, shaping much of its present spacious appearance.
- 2016UNESCO inscription of Mother Goddess worshipOn December 1, 2016, the Practices related to the Viet beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms were inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Chợ Củi Temple is one of the major sanctuaries of that practice.
A note on administrative place names helps avoid confusion when consulting older records. The temple stood in Xuân Hồng commune in the former Nghi Xuân district, Hà Tĩnh province. Under Resolution No. 1665/NQ-UBTVQH15 effective July 1, 2025, the entire Xuân Hồng commune merged with Xuân An town and the communes of Xuân Giang, Xuân Viên, and Xuân Lĩnh to form Nghi Xuân commune in Hà Tĩnh province. Older documents write Xuân Hồng commune, Nghi Xuân district, whereas newer documents write Nghi Xuân commune, both referring to the exact same location. In terms of distance, the temple lies about ten kilometers south of the center of Vinh city in Nghệ An province, much closer than the provincial center of Hà Tĩnh some forty kilometers to the southeast, because the temple sits right on the south bank of the river bend that forms the boundary between the two provinces.
IIIThree halls and the order of the shrines
The temple is laid out in the shape of the character tam (三), meaning three parallel halls arranged one behind another along a single central axis known as the sacred way. Because that axis runs from the riverfront up against the mountain foot, the ground rises steadily toward the rear, and worshippers climb stone steps rather than walking across a flat plane. This sets the site apart from temples and palaces on the plains.
A three-entrance gate set close to the riverbank, built in two tiers with two dragons flanking the moon and central pillars standing 2.85 meters high. Eight meters inside the gate lies a crescent pond in the lowest courtyard, and walking around the pond up seven steps leads to the upper courtyard.
The outermost hall, comprising three bays, four wooden trusses, and eight ironwood pillars, with a nine-meter-wide facade bearing the four Chinese characters Khu Độc Linh Từ. Here stands the Trần Dynasty altar holding a dragon throne and a seated statue of Grand Prince Hưng Đạo.
The worship space dedicated to the Five Mandarins from the First to the Fifth Mandarin alongside the shrine of Quan Hoàng Mười. The shrine of Quan Hoàng Mười displays two large horizontal plaques reading Mẫu Đức Chiếu Ảnh and Huyền Từ Bố Chững, while some architectural descriptions note a statue of Ông Hoàng Mười placed on the left altar of the upper hall.
The central hall, built with three bays and two side wings. Some sources state that the shrine of Chầu Mười is located here, whereas another architectural survey describes the central bay of the middle hall as housing a seated statue of Chiêu Trưng Đại Vương Lê Khôi.
The innermost and highest hall, housing the altar of the Three Holy Mothers with three precious wooden statues lacquered in red and gilded in gold. According to local surveys, Mother Liễu Hạnh wears red, Mother Thoải wears blue-green, and Mother Thượng Ngàn wears white, with an altar on the left holding a statue of Ông Hoàng Mười.
The shrine of Cô Chín and the stele house stand at the front left and right corners of the outer courtyard, while the shrines of the Maiden (Miếu Cô) and the Young Master (Miếu Cậu) stand at the two front corners of the inner courtyard. Together with the triple gate, these side shrines form an enclosure separating the inner and outer grounds and venerating the lower ranks of the Four Palaces pantheon.
Regarding the exact contents of each hall, published sources differ slightly and the library records both descriptions. An article in Culture and Development Magazine describes the shrines from top to bottom as the upper hall venerating the Three Holy Mothers, the shrine of the Five Mandarins, the shrine of Quan Hoàng Mười, the shrine of Chầu Mười, and at the lowest tier the Trần Dynasty shrine dedicated to Grand Prince Hưng Đạo. Another architectural survey records that the three-bay lower hall holds the dragon throne and statue of Grand Prince Hưng Đạo, the three-bay middle hall holds the seated statue of Chiêu Trưng Đại Vương Lê Khôi, and the upper hall enshrines the three wooden statues of the Three Holy Mothers in the center with a statue of Ông Hoàng Mười on the left altar.
This discrepancy stems either from referring to the spaces simultaneously by their structural names (lower, middle, and upper halls) and by their internal shrine names, or from adjustments in statue placement across successive restorations. Three points remain common across every source, namely that the axis from front to back consists of three halls in the tam layout, that the upper hall enshrines the Three Holy Mothers, and that both the shrine of Quan Hoàng Mười and the Trần Dynasty altar occupy prominent places inside the temple.
One detail about color is worth noticing when standing inside the halls. Red, yellow, white, and blue-green on the altars and ritual robes are not arranged at random but correspond to the four realms of the Four Palaces pantheon, while the yellow at the altar of Quan Hoàng Mười is the specific robe color he wears when embodied in spirit mediumship. Simply by looking at the draperies and statue robes, visitors can read the hierarchy of deities without needing to ask.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
This section presents the library's reading through the lens of traditional geomancy, not content copied from stone steles or heritage dossiers. The library states this clearly so readers can distinguish documentary records from geomantic interpretation.
The lie of the land here is clear and compact, as the temple rests its back against Ngũ Mã Mountain and faces the Lam River, following the classic configuration of backing onto the mountain and facing the water. The mountain serves as the rear pillow (hậu chẩm), shielding the back so qi does not disperse, while the river forms the bright hall (minh đường), the open expanse in front where qi gathers. What stands out is how narrow the strip of land is, wedged tightly between cliff and river, so those two elements are not distant vistas but press right against the shoulders of anyone standing in prayer.
The name of the mountain itself belongs to the art of reading landforms. Ngũ Mã means Five Horses, as observers in the past saw the low ridge behind the temple as five connected masses resembling five horses bowing toward a single direction, a formation that traditional geomancy calls a courtly homage (triều). Because the horse is an animal of movement and travel, placing a sanctuary at the foot of such a ridge right beside an old river landing situates the shrine at a node of passage rather than a place of seclusion.
As for the water, the stretch of river in front of the temple belongs to the lower reaches, wide and slow-moving. Slow water in traditional geomancy is read as sentimental water (hữu tình), passing by while lingering to look back. In terms of the Five Elements, worshippers bring petitions concerning literature and examinations before Quan Hoàng Mười, and Water in geomantic theory corresponds to letters, wisdom, and official advancement. Placing such a sanctuary before a great river is, in traditional eyes, sitting in the proper place (đắc vị). Moreover, the three statues in the upper hall include Mother Thoải presiding over the realm of water, adding another layer of resonance between the element of the land and the deity enshrined upon it.
Finally, there is its position within the wider region, which is the most intriguing aspect of the site's geography. The temple sits on the south bank of the river stretch that forms the boundary between two provinces, while not far away on the north bank stands the other principal temple dedicated to the same saint. Two sanctuaries face each other across a single body of water. Read through the lens of geomancy, these are not two competing points but two ends of a single convergence. The river acts simultaneously as boundary and connecting vein, and a saint venerated on both banks belongs to the river itself rather than to either shore alone. The custom of visiting both temples in a single journey, crossing the water along the way, is how pilgrims in the past read the lie of the land with their own feet.
VFestivals and spirit mediumship rituals
The temple observes three major festival days each year, each belonging to a different deity, reflecting the multi-layered nature of this sanctuary. Outside those three occasions, the temple draws steady crowds on the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month and throughout early spring.
| Lunar date | Occasion | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd day of the 3rd month | Anniversary of the Holy Mother | Festival day of Holy Mother Liễu Hạnh, head of the Three Holy Mothers enshrined in the upper hall, featuring incense offerings and spirit mediumship rituals. |
| 20th day of the 8th month | Anniversary of Saint Trần | Death anniversary of Grand Prince Hưng Đạo corresponding to the Trần Dynasty altar, coinciding with his commemoration at Trần temples nationwide. |
| 10th day of the 10th month | Anniversary of Quan Hoàng Mười | Regarded as the date of the Prince's passing, the main festival season drawing large numbers of spirit mediums, held on the same date as the main festival at the temple on the north bank of the Lam River. |
| 1st and 15th of each month | Regular lunar observances | Steady year-round visits by local residents and Mother Goddess ritual associations. |
| 1st and 2nd lunar months | Early spring pilgrimage | Peak pilgrimage season of the year, part of the wider New Year temple-visiting custom across the Nghệ Tĩnh region. |
| Throughout the year | Spirit mediumship sessions | Possession rituals (hầu đồng) organized by mediums and ritual associations accompanied by chầu văn musicians, scheduled according to each group. |
Two ritual practices closely bound to this sanctuary are chầu văn singing and hầu đồng spirit mediumship. Chầu văn is a liturgical singing style performed with a moon lute, drums, clappers, and small cymbals, whose lyrics recount the sacred biographies of each deity in the Four Palaces pantheon. Hầu đồng is the ritual in which a medium successively embodies different deities (giá), each with a distinct robe color matching its palace, a specific dance, and a dedicated chant. Because the temple enshrines all ranks of the pantheon, a ritual mat here passes through many incarnations rather than stopping at the Tenth Prince alone, and chầu văn singing along this stretch of the river carries a noticeable inflection of Nghệ Tĩnh folk melody in its vocal ornamentation.
On December 1, 2016, at the eleventh session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Practices related to the Viet beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms were inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and Chợ Củi Temple is one of the major sanctuaries of that practice in North Central Vietnam. It should be noted clearly that what was inscribed is the cultural practice and its heritage value, not an endorsement of religious belief.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Bên sông Lam, xã Nghi Xuân (xã Xuân Hồng, huyện Nghi Xuân cũ), tỉnh Hà Tĩnh
- Getting there
- The temple stands on the south bank of the Lam River in Nghi Xuân commune (formerly Xuân Hồng commune, Nghi Xuân district), Hà Tĩnh province, at the foot of Ngũ Mã Mountain, about two hundred to three hundred meters from National Highway 1 and roughly ten kilometers south of the center of Vinh city. Crossing over to Ông Hoàng Mười Temple on the Nghệ An side requires only passing Bến Thủy Bridge, and the traditional custom is to visit both sanctuaries in a single trip.
- Coordinates
- 18.6048, 105.6913
The temple is an active place of worship and becomes very crowded on the three major festival days as well as in early spring, so visitors should dress modestly, remove hats when entering the halls, walk quietly and speak softly in the upper hall, and place donations into the merit boxes rather than laying small bills onto the statues. Because the temple axis climbs upward along narrow stone steps that are often damp near the river, visitors should move in one direction to avoid blocking others. When encountering a spirit mediumship session, please stand outside the ritual mat and avoid walking between the medium and the altar.
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?Quick Questions
Who is venerated at Chợ Củi Temple
Multiple layers of deities are venerated together. The upper hall enshrines the Three Holy Mothers (Mother Liễu Hạnh, Mother Thượng Ngàn, and Mother Thoải), with an altar on the left holding a statue of Ông Hoàng Mười. Inside the temple complex are also the shrines of the Five Mandarins, Quan Hoàng Mười, and Chầu Mười, the Trần Dynasty altar dedicated to Grand Prince Hưng Đạo, and a statue of Chiêu Trưng Đại Vương Lê Khôi. Its Sino-Vietnamese titles are Thánh Mẫu Linh Từ and Khu Độc Linh Từ, while in folk usage it is called Đền Củi or the Temple of Ông Hoàng Mười.
Is Chợ Củi Temple or the temple in Nghệ An the original sanctuary of Quan Hoàng Mười
No documentary evidence settles the question conclusively, so the library does not adjudicate. The Nghệ An side cites a 1634 founding date, twenty-one royal investiture decrees, a Chinese-character sacred biography, and national intangible heritage inscription for its festival in 2019. The Hà Tĩnh side cites its 1993 National Heritage Site ranking under Decision No. 57/QĐ-VH, a Lê dynasty origin, and its location on the exact stretch of river at the foot of Ngũ Mã Mountain where legend places the saint's passing.
How are the halls and shrines arranged inside Chợ Củi Temple
The temple follows the tam (三) layout with three parallel halls rising from the riverbank toward the mountain foot. Outermost stand the triple gate and crescent pond, followed by the lower hall housing the Trần Dynasty altar, then the middle hall and the shrines of the Five Mandarins, Quan Hoàng Mười, and Chầu Mười, and finally the innermost and highest upper hall enshrining the Three Holy Mothers. Sources differ slightly in how they name and describe the exact placement of individual statues across the lower, middle, and upper halls.
Why is it called Chợ Củi (Firewood Market)
Sources offer two explanations. The common explanation treats it as a place name, since this bend of the river formerly had a wharf and market trading firewood, so the temple took the market's name. The second belongs to folk legend, linking the name to the story of the general transporting timber rafts downriver to help villagers rebuild their homes after a storm before perishing on the river. One is a toponymic explanation and the other is a sacred legend.
What are the main festival dates at Chợ Củi Temple during the year
There are three major festival days, each dedicated to a different figure, namely the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month for the Holy Mother, the 20th day of the 8th lunar month for Saint Trần, and the 10th day of the 10th lunar month for Quan Hoàng Mười. The 10th day of the 10th lunar month is also the main festival of the temple on the north bank of the Lam River. In addition, the temple draws steady crowds on the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month and in early spring.