Tam Phu Temple

Doai Region is a land of picturesque mountains and rivers and rich, diverse natural scenery. For thousands of years, despite many changes in administrative status, the essential character of Doai Region and the native cultural soul of the region seem to remain sedimented across time and space in cultural-historical architectural works; the complex of Doi Hoi Pagoda and Tam Phu Temple in Thu Que Village, Dan Phuong Commune, on the outskirts of Hanoi, is such an address.
Tam Phu Temple (also called Thu Que Temple) is located close to the bank of the Day River, built on an open, high plot of about 1 ha, adjacent to Doi Hoi Pagoda.
The temple worships the Heaven Palace, Earth Palace, and Water Palace (where Heaven, Earth, and the water deity are worshipped). In the mindset of wet-rice farmers, these deities all have feminine qualities and become Mother - Mau. From there, it was generalized into the Mother Goddess religion, considered the embodiment of all the life force of the universe.
According to the stele of the 25th year of Chinh Hoa under the Le dynasty (1705), erected at Doi Hoi Pagoda, the temple was built in the Dinh dynasty when Dinh Tien Hoang ordered the construction of the dike here. At that time, the temple may have been small, located right by the dike far from the village. When the legend arose that a Tran king stopped his royal carriage in this region, the temple was rebuilt. Over the years, its scale became increasingly large and beautiful as it is today. The relic faces south; on both sides are two side corridors structured in the shape of the character tam (三), comprising three buildings: Tien Te, Trung Te, and Thuong Cung.
In the temple there is a stele erected in the 19th year of Tu Duc (1866), recording nine decrees of the Trinh lords permitting the people of Thu Que to be exempt from corvée and miscellaneous labor in order to worship the Saints and Buddhas at Tam Phu Temple and Doi Hoi Pagoda.
With its remaining values, Tam Phu Temple is truly a precious cultural heritage of the nation that should be respected and preserved. The relic has entered history as a pride of Vietnamese culture.