南朝宋時，建康城東北的攝山尚多毒蛇猛獸，人煙罕至。南齊初，隱士明僧紹入山後，招引僧侶，講經說法，揭開了攝山佛教的序幕。其後經法度、僧朗、僧詮、慧布與保恭諸僧的經營，攝山的棲霞寺漸具規模。尤其從僧朗宣講三論之學後，促成三論學在江南的復興，隋代嘉祥吉藏創立三論宗，攝山因而被視為三論宗的祖庭。後世論及三論宗，都會注意到從僧朗、僧詮到興皇法朗的這段師承關係，那的確是蘊蓄三論學能量的一段重要時期。不過，三論宗並不能完全涵蓋攝山的佛教，當三論學從山林走向城市後，以慧布與保恭為中心，攝山的佛教其實較偏向於禪誦，且匯聚了北方達摩、南方智顗與真諦的禪法。不論三論之學或禪法，在江南佛教史中，攝山都扮演著開啟風氣之先的角色。此外，由於五至七世紀間政治局勢的轉變，地近都城的攝山佛教原本常受宗室權貴供養，隋唐以後，都城遠離，與當地民眾的結合更趨緊密。

During the Liu Song dynasty, Mt. Sheshan located in the northeast region outside the capital city Jiankang was sparsely populated because it was still much inhabited by venomous snakes and wild animals. In the early Southern Qi dynasty, a recluse scholar Ming Sengshao (明僧紹) began to invite monks to abide together and to propagate the teachings of Buddha. Thus Sheshan Buddhism started to grow. Thereafter, under the management of monks like Fadu (法度), Senglang (僧朗), Sengquan (僧詮), Huibu (慧布) and Baogong (保恭), the famous Qixia Temple at Mt. Sheshan began to take shape. Sheshan was widely recognized as the ancestor court of Sanlunzong三 (論宗). Senglang (僧朗) had expounded teaching of Sanlun (三論) there, which sparked off the revival of the study of Sanlun in southern China and resulted in the establishment of Sanlunzong by Jiaxiang Jizang (嘉祥吉藏) during the Sui dynasty. Nevertheless, Sheshan Buddhism was not confined to the teaching of Sanlunzong. When the study of Sanlun spread from countryside to urban areas, centered around Huibu and Baogong, Sheshan Buddhism was heavily colored by dhyāna, integrating the dhyāna of Damo (達摩) in the north and the dhyāna technique of Zhiyi (智顗) and Zhendi (真諦) in the south. In other words, Sheshan Buddhism was the guiding spirit of both the study of Sanlun and the teachings of dhyāna in the history of the Buddhism in the Jiangnan area. Besides, due to the changes in political situation and the removal of capital city from Jiankang in the Tang dynasty, the financial support from the royal house and rich families decreased and Sheshan Buddhism gradually associated itself with local population more closely.