Ha Temple in Dong Ngan Village

Based on artifacts still kept at the temple, such as the deity’s legend, royal edicts, and worship objects, it can be surmised that the temple was built in the late Hau Le period and restored several times during the Nguyen period. In 1954, the villagers raised the temple and repaired some wooden components. In 1995, the temple continued to be restored. In 2002, the temple was again repaired and embellished as it is today.

Ha Dong Ngan Temple worships the deity Great King Quoc Lang (Lang Cong). According to tradition, he, together with Khang Cong and Khiet Cong, made great contributions in helping Saint Giong defeat the An invaders and save the people and the country. After returning in victory, the three were conferred titles by King Hung: Khang was titled Great King Bao Khang, Khiet Cong was titled Great King Minh Khiet, and Lang Cong was titled Great King Quoc Lang; at the same time, the people of Dong Ngan hamlet were permitted to worship the three as village tutelary gods. Ha Temple separately worships Great King Quoc Lang.

Ha Dong Ngan Temple is located on a plot at the end of the village near the dike base, facing south and overlooking the Duong River. In front of the relic is a small brick-paved yard surrounded by many shade trees. In particular, the relic still preserves a frangipani tree hundreds of years old. Ha Temple is small in scale, with an architectural layout in the shape of the character “ding” including the front worship hall and the rear sanctuary. The front worship hall is a horizontal building with three bays, built with closed gable walls and ngai arms connected to ornamental pillars. The roof is covered with domestic tiles in the shoe-nose tile style; the roof ridge is built in the dinh style with a row of lemon-flower motifs running from the two gable ends, and in the middle of the roof ridge is a three-mountain symbol with a white-glazed ceramic plate painted in blue with a dragon design. The front of the worship hall opens with three rectangular folding doors. The temple’s rear sanctuary runs lengthwise to the rear and connects directly with the front worship hall; it has two bays with closed gable walls and ngai arms, and on both gable walls there are two small brick flower windows that provide ventilation for the relic. The roof is covered with shoe-nose tiles, and the roof ridge is built in the dinh style. In the central bay, a brick altar is built against the rear wall, arranged with a dragon throne, memorial tablet for worshiping the saint, and other worship objects. To the right of the temple is a small shrine built of brick with a concrete roof, worshiping Hoang Duc Nhuan. Previously, the shrine was near the foot of the dike; in 1997, the villagers moved it to a position close to the temple as it is today. 

Over a long period of existence, the relic has preserved valuable artifacts such as copies of the deity’s legend and title, 7 royal edicts from the 28th year of Canh Hung (1767), the 7th year of Tu Duc (1854), 2 edicts from the 10th year of Tu Duc (1857), 2 edicts from the 3rd year of Duy Tan (1909), the 9th year of Khai Dinh (1924), 1 gilded dragon throne made in the 19th century, an incense table, a ceremonial curtain, horizontal plaques, and parallel couplets, all lacquered and gilded and made in the 20th century. The village festival is held jointly on the deity’s birth and death anniversary days together with Thuong Temple and Trung Dong Ngan Temple.

The Ha Dong Ngan Temple relic was ranked as a city-level historical and artistic relic under Decision No. 2404/QD-UBND dated December 4, 2008.