Cuong Temple is one of the temples dedicated to King An Duong Vuong Thuc Phan, and situated on Mo Da Mountain in Dien An Commune, Dien Chau District, Nghe An Province.
It remains unknown when the temple was built, but it was mentioned in documents since early 19th century. The Nguyen Dynasty kings from King Gia Long to King Khai Dinh had it restored. Right from the Dinh Dynasty, historical documents mentioned a visit to Cuong Temple by Geneal Vo Trung when he stationed here. Initially, the temple was built by the Cua Hien Beach (Dien Trung Commune, Dien Chau District).
Legend has it that that was the very place King An Duong Vuong and his daughter, Princess My Chau, committed suicide as they had nowhere to escape from the enemy. Until the Le Dynasty, the temple was moved to Mo Da Mountain. The mountain range was previously named Hac (stork) Mountain with a beautiful landscape.
Under feudal dynasties, the Cuong Temple was considered a place for national worshipping rituals. On the front Tam Quan (three-entrance) gate, there remains embossed Han scripts saying “quoc te thuong tu” (the temple for national worshipping rituals).
Generally speaking, this is an ancient architecture with unique structures, carefully built and decorated. The place still preserves numerous precious objects used at rituals including stone steles, royal-recognition decrees, thrones, litters, among others.
In 1975, the Cuong Temple was ranked as a historical – architectural art site by the then Ministry of Culture. At present, the Cuong Temple is both a tourist site and a sacred place for the local people. Annually, local people organise the Cuong Temple Festival featuring many diverse cultural activities./.
