Tainan Travel

Huo Wangye or the Lord of Fire (火王爺). Because of its connection with the hot spring, much of the surrounding scenery has some relation to fire, including the time-honored and ever-popular Fire and Water Spring (水火同源). The spring, also known as Fire Water Cave(水火洞), constantly emits fire and water from the same hole, attracting tourists to come and observe the marvel for the last 300 years. This phenomenon was discovered in 1701 by a monk from Dasian Temple (白河大仙寺), who at the time described an intense and vigorous fire focused on one point. After the 1964 Baihe earthquake, the fire became weaker, but it still has not stopped burning. Local legend regarding the spring is very interesting: Because Guanziling's Pillow Mountain is also known as Qilin Mountain (麒麟山), the flame is said to be spat out by a Qilin (a mythical Chinese creature). Such imaginative myth and legend add to the mystery of Fire and Water Spring. Nowadays, walking from the row of vendors toward the Spring, tourists will notice a large mural on the wall by master sculptor Yang Ying-feng which represents the spirit of Tainan, bringing a lot of artistic flavor to this place.