明代初年的香山縣是珠江出海口的孤島，四面汪洋。漳州商人時常出沒於香山外洋，與前來廣州進貢的東南亞商人貿易。天順二年（1458），漳州海盜商人嚴啟盛來到香山沙尾村的外洋；成化年間，又有琉球使者蔡璿（原籍漳州）到香山港貿易的記載。以上史料證明：在葡萄牙商人抵達澳門之前，澳門所在的沙尾外洋已經有中外貿易。當時的澳門被稱為“阿媽港”或是“亞馬港”，這都說明媽祖信仰在當地的傳播十分久遠，應可溯及嚴啟盛時期。

In the early period of the Ming Dynasty, the Xiangshan County is an island at the mouth of the Pear River. Merchants from Zhangzhou were present at the outer seas of Xiangshan at that time, trading with those from South East Asia who came to Guangzhou to present tributes. In the 2nd year of the Tianshun Reign (AD 1458), Yan Qisheng, a merchant from Zhangzhou who was also a pirate, came to the outer seas of the Shawei Village, while records regarding the Emissary of Ryukyu, Cai Rui (whose ancestors came from Zhangzhou), coming to the Port of Xiangshan for trade were found. These evidences suggest that trade did exist between China and the outside world at the outer seas of Shawei, where Macau is located, well before the arrival of Portuguese merchants to Macau. Macau at that time was known as “Ya Ma Gang”, whose denomination shows that the faith of Mazu had been practised in the region for a long time, tracing back to the times when Yan Qisheng was active.