Dong Duong Cave Shrine

Worshipped Figure: The relic worships two local tutelary gods who lived during the reign of the 18th Hung King: Long Cung Uy Quang Kiem Tri Thong Quoc Dai Vuong and Nguyen Suy, Hung Luoc Sung Phuc Tru Quoc Dai Vuong.

Divine legend: The two gods made great contributions helping King Hung defeat the Thuc Phan invaders and protect the Van Lang kingdom, and they were granted a fief in Dong Duong village. Later, when Dinh Tien Hoang passed through here to suppress the rebellion of the 12 warlords, he was also secretly supported by the two gods, so the king included them in the national rites and issued edicts of investiture. The gods' birthday is the 12th day of the 3rd lunar month and their death anniversary is the 6th day of the 6th lunar month.

Revolutionary events: During the resistance war against the French, Dong Duong village and the relic area were an operating base and sheltered many senior leaders of the Party such as Hoang Quoc Viet, Do Muoi, and Van Tien Dung.

2. Architectural - Artistic characteristics

• Architecture of the Communal House: The communal house is located on a 4410m2 plot, faces southwest, and includes a worship hall and a rear sanctuary arranged in the Nhi (=) layout. The main worship hall is built in the Nhat (-) layout, 14m long and 7.5m wide, with a frame consisting of 5 roof trusses and 4 rows of columns. The truss structure is of the upper chong ruong gia chieng and lower chong ruong con nhi type, strongly bearing the Nguyen dynasty style. The woodcarving art is exquisite, with carved panels of dragon-shaped beam ends, the four sacred animals, the four noble plants, and geometric patterns. In the communal house area, many old box-shaped bricks with Le and Mac dynasty patterns have also been discovered.

• Architecture of the Shrine (Ha Shrine): It is located on land shaped like a golden turtle (Kim Quy), with a pond in front that is a remnant of the ancient Kim Nguu River. The shrine is built in the Dinh (J) layout, comprising 3 bays of the front ritual hall and 2 bays of the rear sanctuary. The gable ends have closed bit doc and tay ngai details; on top of the ornamental pillars are molded kneeling nghe creatures, lanterns, and pairs of Chinese-character couplets.

3. System of Relics and Antiquities

• The relic keeps 1 deity record written in Chinese characters, compiled in the first year of Hong Duc (1470), and more than ten edicts of investiture from feudal dynasties.

• The worship object system is diverse with 4 thrones (3 wooden, 1 bronze), among which the wooden throne is carved with twin dragons flanking the moon and splendidly lacquered and gilded.

• In addition, there are a lacquered worship platform painted with the four sacred animals, a bronze incense burner, decorative vases, a bronze bell, a scripture stand, a washing basin, and a candle tree.