Descending from Ba Dội Pass along National Highway 1A, visitors come upon the ceremonial gate of Sòng Temple right beside the road. Beyond the gate stands the Fish-Viewing Pavilion (lầu Vọng Ngư), followed by a semicircular arched stone bridge spanning the Sòng stream, with the Temple of Saint Trần on the opposite bank. The Mother Goddess temple itself lies furthest inside, composed of three consecutive halls arranged in the shape of the character Tam (three), backing against the mountain.
The principal deity venerated here is Holy Mother Liễu Hạnh. Folk tradition across the region has long passed down the sayings "Sòng Temple is the most numinous in Thanh Hóa" (Đền Sòng thiêng nhất xứ Thanh) and "No festival is merrier than Phủ Dầy, yet even that cannot surpass Sòng Sơn". Practitioners name Phủ Dầy, Phủ Tây Hồ, and Sòng Temple as the three foremost seats of Liễu Hạnh worship. Phủ Dầy is linked with the legend of her earthly birth, Phủ Tây Hồ with her literary encounter with Phùng Khắc Khoan, and Sòng Sơn with her manifestations around Ba Dội Pass.
IHoly Mother Liễu Hạnh at the gateway to Thanh Hóa
The principal deity is Holy Mother Liễu Hạnh, one of the Four Immortals (Tứ bất tử) of Vietnamese folk belief and a deity of the Mother Goddess rank in the Four Palaces pantheon. By common convention, she is identified with Mẫu Đệ Nhất Thượng Thiên (First Mother of the Sky Palace), who presides over the Sky Palace in red. According to the Thanh Hóa Provincial Portal and Văn Hóa Newspaper, inside the rear sanctuary, beside the central shrine of Mother Liễu Hạnh (attended on either side by the two fairy maidens Quế Nương and Nhị Nương), the left bay worships Mẫu Thoải and the right bay worships Mẫu Thượng Ngàn, completing the Three Palaces Mother Goddesses. Across the stone bridge over the Sòng stream stands the shrine to Saint Trần (Đức Thánh Trần), alongside the Lady Pavilion, Young Lord Pavilion, and Đức Ông shrine within the complex.
The classical name of the temple on the old land of Phú Dương hamlet, Cổ Đam commune is Sùng Sơn linh từ (Sacred Temple of Mount Sùng), sometimes written Sùng Trân Temple. The four Chinese characters at the top of the page represent Sùng Sơn linh từ as recorded by the library from textual sources rather than copied directly from a verified plaque rubbing.
In the narratives told by practitioners, Liễu Hạnh is a daughter of the Jade Emperor who descended to the mortal world multiple times, leaving her imprint in different regions each time. The Culture and Society Review describes her as the second daughter of the Jade Emperor who descended three times. Because extant texts do not agree on which descent corresponds to Sòng Sơn, the library does not assign a number.
For the earthly life of the Mother and the traditions of her birthplace, readers may consult the Phủ Dầy article. Her poetic encounter with Phùng Khắc Khoan by West Lake is covered in the Phủ Tây Hồ article. This entry focuses specifically on the traditions of Ba Dội Pass.
Two layers of legend circulate in this region. The first recounts the Mother manifesting to aid people. Nhân Dân Newspaper records the tradition that the Mother once helped the scholar Nguyễn Quỳnh on his way north for the royal examinations and taught mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing, and weaving to the inhabitants of the Tam Điệp area.
The second layer recounts the founding of the temple. According to the Thanh Hóa Provincial Portal, Văn Hóa Newspaper, and a research essay by Nhân Phúc, during the Vĩnh Tộ era (1619 to 1628) an elder of Cổ Đam village received a numinous instruction from the Holy Mother to build a temple, planted a fresh bamboo staff as a marker that sprouted into a bamboo grove, and villagers erected the shrine there on the land of Phú Dương hamlet, Cổ Đam commune, Tống Sơn district, Hà Trung prefecture. Nhân Phúc's essay also recounts that during the 1939 restoration, workmen discovered a bronze vessel containing five bronze leaves inscribed with the Mother's hagiography from Vân Cát village. The library notes that detail as coming from an individual essay, not yet published by a heritage agency.
The legend of the Mother hiding inside nine spring wells during a battle belongs to the Chín Giếng Temple article, the sanctuary of Cô Chín less than one kilometer to the east.
Hanoi also has a Sòng Temple, whose full name is Sòng Sơn Temple, located on Tôn Đức Thắng Street in former Đống Đa district, originally founded as a branch shrine (vọng từ) by natives of Thanh Hóa living in the capital to worship Mother Liễu Hạnh. That is a separate monument from the one discussed here. When reading sources that mention Sòng Temple, readers should check whether the text refers to Bỉm Sơn or Hanoi, as the two sites have distinct histories, architecture, and festival calendars.
IITwo founding dates and successive restorations
The initial founding date follows local oral tradition, and press accounts commonly mention two periods more than a century apart, namely the Vĩnh Tộ era (1619 to 1628) and the Cảnh Hưng era under King Lê Hiển Tông (1740 to 1786). The Thanh Hóa Provincial Portal bridges these two dates by recording that the temple originated in the Vĩnh Tộ era and underwent a major restoration during the Cảnh Hưng era, followed by several Nguyễn-dynasty repairs.
- 1619 to 1628Legendary foundationDuring the Vĩnh Tộ reign of King Lê Thần Tông, an elder of Cổ Đam village received a numinous instruction to raise the temple on the land of Phú Dương hamlet, Cổ Đam commune, according to the Thanh Hóa Provincial Portal and Văn Hóa Newspaper.
- 1740 to 1786Cảnh Hưng era restorationDuring the Cảnh Hưng reign of King Lê Hiển Tông, the temple underwent major restoration according to the Thanh Hóa Provincial Portal. Several newspapers such as Tuổi Trẻ Thủ Đô and Nhân Dân cite this period shorthand as the construction date.
- 1912, 1919, 1928Nguyễn dynasty restorationsAccording to the Thanh Hóa Provincial Portal, the temple was successively restored in the 6th year of Duy Tân (1912), the 4th year of Khải Định (1919), and the 3rd year of Bảo Đại (1928).
- 1939Restoration shaping the layoutThe temple underwent a major restoration in Nguyễn-dynasty architectural style. According to Nhân Phúc's essay, five bronze leaves recording the Mother's hagiography were found during this work.
- 1993National heritage siteRecognized by the Ministry of Culture and Information as a national historical and cultural heritage site, according to the Thanh Hóa Provincial Portal, Văn Hóa Newspaper, and Nhân Dân.
- 1998Major reconstruction and embellishmentAccording to Văn Hóa Newspaper, starting in 1998 the temple was reconstructed following the scale of the 1939 Nguyễn-period architecture, along with the Nghinh Môn gate, Lady Pavilion, Young Lord Pavilion, Đức Ông shrine, Fish-Viewing Pavilion, and arched stone bridge.
- 2016UNESCO inscriptionPractices related to the Viet beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms were inscribed as intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The temple is not inscribed individually.
- 2025Administrative mergerUnder Resolution 1686/NQ-UBTVQH15, former Bắc Sơn ward merged with Ngọc Trạo ward, Phú Sơn ward, and Quang Trung commune (former Bỉm Sơn town) to form Quang Trung ward, Thanh Hóa province.
Regarding the two chronological milestones of Vĩnh Tộ (1619 to 1628) and Cảnh Hưng under King Lê Hiển Tông (1740 to 1786), cross-checking the Thanh Hóa Provincial Portal against press articles explains why both appear. The Vĩnh Tộ date belongs to the founding tradition at Cổ Đam village, whereas the Cảnh Hưng date (1740 to 1786) marks a major expansion and restoration under King Lê Hiển Tông, contemporaneous with the building of neighboring Chín Giếng Temple. Beyond its 1993 national heritage certificate, Sòng Sơn Temple has also been recognized by the Thanh Hóa Provincial People's Committee as a provincial tourist site.
IIIThree consecutive halls and the stone bridge across the stream
According to the Thanh Hóa Provincial Portal and Tuổi Trẻ Thủ Đô, the temple bears architectural hallmarks of the Restored Lê and Nguyễn periods, laid out in the shape of the character Tam (three) with three consecutive halls. The triple gate (tam quan) rises two stories with eight roofs in the tiered-eaves style and three doors made of rosewood (gỗ trắc), where the left door is named Precepts (Giới), the right door Concentration (Định), and the central door Wisdom (Tuệ). In front of the temple lie a crescent pond and the Sòng stream. Inside, the halls preserve more than forty red-lacquered and gold-gilded horizontal plaques and parallel couplets.
The outermost layer beside the road. The Fish-Viewing Pavilion (lầu Vọng Ngư) looks down over the crescent pond and the clear waters of the Sòng stream.
A semicircular arched green-stone bridge spanning the Sòng stream toward the Temple of Saint Trần. Local tradition records that the bridge was funded by a Lê-dynasty Empress Dowager and a consort of the Trịnh lords.
The communal incense hall honoring the Assembly of Holy Mandarins (Hội đồng Thánh quan). According to the Thanh Hóa Provincial Portal, it also holds altars to Mẫu Cửu Trùng, Quan Hoàng Bảy, and Quan Hoàng Mười, with an altar to Saint Trần on the right side.
Dedicated to the Jade Emperor (Ngọc Hoàng Thượng đế), the heavenly father of the Holy Mother in sacred narrative.
The three-bay Forbidden Sanctuary (Cung Cấm) at the rear. The central bay enshrines the statue of Holy Mother Liễu Hạnh in red robes attended by the fairy maidens Quế Nương and Nhị Nương, the left bay worships Mẫu Thoải, and the right bay worships Mẫu Thượng Ngàn, crowned above by the four-character plaque Mẫu nghi thiên hạ.
The Temple of Saint Trần stands across the stone bridge over the Sòng stream in honor of Hưng Đạo Đại Vương, accompanied within the complex by the Lady Pavilion, Young Lord Pavilion, and Đức Ông shrine.
The horizontal plaque above the main sanctuary reads Mẫu nghi thiên hạ (Motherly Model of All Under Heaven), paired with antique parallel couplets praising the sanctuary such as "Sòng Sơn hiển tích thiên thu tại, Thanh Hóa danh lam vạn cổ truyền" (The manifested traces of Mount Sòng endure for a thousand autumns, the famed sanctuary of Thanh Hóa is passed down for ten thousand ages). Those four characters capture Liễu Hạnh's standing in the pantheon, not merely as a tutelary deity of one locality but as a Mother to all followers of the tradition.
The sequence of the three halls is equally noteworthy. Moving inward from the courtyard, pilgrims pass through the hall of the Holy Mandarins, then the hall of the Jade Emperor, and finally reach the rear sanctuary of the Three Palaces Mother Goddesses. Placing the altar of the Jade Emperor in the middle hall of a Mother Goddess temple states in architectural form that the Mother is a daughter of Heaven who descended to earth.
IVThe lie of the land and orientation
The Thanh Hóa Provincial Portal and several articles describe the site using the traditional terms Azure Dragon on the left and White Tiger on the right and state the temple's orientation. The library uses those descriptions as a starting point, while the analysis below represents the library's reading through the lens of traditional feng shui rather than statements copied from temple steles or spirit charters.
Sòng Temple possesses a terrain configuration that flatland Mother Goddess temples such as Phủ Dầy do not have, namely backing against the mountain and facing the stream. The mountain behind serves as the rear pillow (hậu chẩm), blocking wind and retaining qi. The Sòng stream in front is water crossing laterally, which traditional geomancy calls encircling water (thủy hoàn) when it curves past without cutting straight into the gate. Together with the crescent pond before the courtyard, the water here has both a flowing channel and a place of water gathering (thủy tụ). Source descriptions also note the Azure Dragon on the left and White Tiger on the right, referring to the two flanking arms of land embracing the sanctuary, and the library stops at that observation.
The second point is its position at the foot of the pass. Ba Dội is the mountain pass along the old royal highway between Ninh Bình and Thanh Hóa. Traditional site reading views the foot of a pass as a place where qi pauses, as the flow of travelers and terrain descends from the ridge onto level ground. Placing a Mother Goddess temple at that threshold both welcomes travelers entering from the north and guards the gateway into Thanh Hóa.
The third point is the axis across the water. The arched stone bridge linking the Mother Temple with the Temple of Saint Trần forms an axis spanning the stream. In traditional reading, two sanctuaries standing on opposite banks of a watercourse connected by a bridge form a yin-yang pair, with one bank honoring the Mother and the other honoring a male Saint. This is an interpretive reading by the library rather than a statement from the sources.
Finally, there is its orientation and relationship with Chín Giếng. According to the Thanh Hóa Provincial Portal, Sòng Sơn Temple stands on elevated ground that sits on the southeast and faces northwest, looking out toward the Tam Điệp pass range and the Sòng stream. Sòng Temple backing against the mountain is the seat of the presiding Mother, while Chín Giếng on flatter ground to the east where water wells up from the earth is the seat of the attendant Lady, linked each year by the palanquin procession in the second lunar month. Because no source gives a specific compass degree, none is stated here.
VSòng Sơn Ba Dội festival in the second lunar month
The grand annual gathering of the temple is the Sòng Sơn, Ba Dội festival in the second lunar month. The 25th day of the second month is commemorated as the day the Holy Mother descended to the mortal world and serves as the main festival day according to Tuổi Trẻ Thủ Đô, Văn Hóa Newspaper, and Thanh Hóa tourism materials.
| Lunar date | Rite | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 10th of the 2nd month | Opening of the festival season | According to Tuổi Trẻ Thủ Đô and Văn Hóa Newspaper, the festival season begins on this day. |
| During the festival | Procession of the Mother to Chín Giếng | The palanquin of the Holy Mother is carried from Sòng Temple to Chín Giếng Temple according to Nhân Dân Newspaper and the former Bỉm Sơn town portal. |
| 24th to 26th of the 2nd month | Three main festival days | Nhân Dân and Công Lý record the festival concentrating across these three days, with sacrificial rites, the Mother procession, and folk games. |
| 25th of the 2nd month | Day of the Holy Mother's descent | The main festival day and most solemn annual observance of the temple. |
| 26th of the 2nd month | Palanquin procession and closing | The final day of the festival, when Thanh Hóa tourism materials and Công Lý Newspaper record the palanquin procession of the Holy Mother. |
Sources record the duration of the festival in two ways, with Tuổi Trẻ Thủ Đô and Văn Hóa Newspaper giving the 10th to the 26th of the second lunar month, while Nhân Dân and Công Lý give the 24th to the 26th. Both accounts align in practice when the 10th to the 26th is understood as the broader festival season and the 24th to the 26th as the three peak festival days. The library records both.
Festival activities include chầu văn singing and spirit mediumship alongside folk games such as wrestling, dragon dances, singing contests, swinging, human chess, and tug-of-war according to Tuổi Trẻ Thủ Đô and Văn Hóa Newspaper. Spirit mediumship and chầu văn belong to the Practices related to the Viet beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms, inscribed by UNESCO in 2016 at the level of the entire belief system.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Khu phố 6, phường Quang Trung (phường Bắc Sơn cũ, thị xã Bỉm Sơn cũ), tỉnh Thanh Hóa, cạnh quốc lộ 1A và suối Sòng, dưới chân đèo Ba Dội
- Getting there
- The temple is in Quarter 6, Quang Trung ward, Thanh Hóa province, formerly Bắc Sơn ward of former Bỉm Sơn town, beside National Highway 1A and the Sòng stream at the foot of Ba Dội Pass. Chín Giếng Temple lies less than one kilometer to the east.
- Coordinates
- 20.0952, 105.8567
By established custom, pilgrims enter the Mother Temple first, proceed to Chín Giếng to honor Cô Chín afterward, and cross the stone bridge to pay respects to Saint Trần. During the festival season crowds are dense, so please walk slowly and yield to others on the arched stone bridge. Inside the main sanctuary, please walk quietly and do not touch the statues or shrines. When encountering a mediumship ritual, please remain outside the mat and do not cross in front of the palanquin procession.
Nearby places in the library
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?Quick Questions
Whom does Sòng Sơn Temple worship
Its principal deity is Holy Mother Liễu Hạnh, one of the Four Immortals and a Mother Goddess in the Four Palaces pantheon, commonly identified with Mẫu Đệ Nhất Thượng Thiên presiding over the Sky Palace. The rear sanctuary also co-worships Mẫu Thoải and Mẫu Thượng Ngàn, the middle hall worships the Jade Emperor, the front hall worships the Assembly of Holy Mandarins, and across the stone bridge over the Sòng stream stands the Temple of Saint Trần.
When was Sòng Sơn Temple founded
According to the Thanh Hóa Provincial Portal and Văn Hóa Newspaper, local tradition holds that the temple was founded during the Vĩnh Tộ era (1619 to 1628) in Cổ Đam village after an elder received a numinous instruction from the Holy Mother. During the Cảnh Hưng era under King Lê Hiển Tông (1740 to 1786) the temple underwent a major restoration (which some newspapers cite as its construction date), followed by further restorations in 1912, 1919, 1928, 1939, and 1998.
How do Sòng Temple, Phủ Dầy, and Phủ Tây Hồ differ
All three worship Mother Liễu Hạnh and are revered by practitioners as her three foremost sanctuaries. Phủ Dầy is linked with the tradition of her earthly birth, Phủ Tây Hồ with her literary encounter with Phùng Khắc Khoan, and Sòng Sơn with her manifestations around Ba Dội Pass and the folk saying that Sòng Temple is the most numinous in Thanh Hóa.
When does the Sòng Sơn Temple festival take place
The Sòng Sơn, Ba Dội festival takes place in the second lunar month. Tuổi Trẻ Thủ Đô and Văn Hóa Newspaper give the festival season from the 10th to the 26th, while Nhân Dân and Công Lý give the three main days from the 24th to the 26th. The 25th day of the second month marks the Holy Mother's descent to earth, and the festival features a palanquin procession of the Mother to Chín Giếng Temple.
What does Mẫu nghi thiên hạ mean
Those are the four Chinese characters on the horizontal plaque in the main sanctuary of Sòng Temple, meaning Motherly Model of All Under Heaven. The phrase expresses Liễu Hạnh's standing in the Four Palaces pantheon as a Mother to all worshippers rather than merely a local tutelary spirit.