臺灣民間五步一小廟，十步一大廟，所供奉各式各樣的神祇，原是和民眾的俗世生活有著千絲萬縷的關係。崇祀佑護海神祇的水仙宮和天后宮，在臺灣民間信仰中更因地理環境的因心而深具海洋性色彩。水仙宮供奉水仙尊王如大禹、伍員、屈原、項羽、王勃、李白等歷史人物，聯繫歷史掌故，並具有植根於族文化傳統的教特色，在臺灣儒釋道相混的民間信仰中，可謂獨樹一幟。然相較於天后宮的鼎盛香火，隨著時代遷變而日趨沒落的水仙宮，似乎漸不為臺人所熟知。「神明」這個符號是可以廣泛而深刻地探討的，而「寺廟道觀」也是民間精神文化的一種表徵，因此本論文企圖結合史文獻及田野調查，藉以探討南臺灣水仙貼的信仰系統及其隱涵的文化意義。望闡發民間信仰的原始精神，加深我們對民族文化與民情風俗的了解。

A popular saying is that “In Taiwan within every 5 steps a small temple can be found, and within every 10 steps a big temple can be seen.” The various kinds of the Gods worshipped in the temples are closely related to the daily lives of the people living in Taiwan. Ocean Gods Temples and Heavenly Queen Temples, in which the ocean gods are worshipped, represent two Taiwanese traditional belief systems shaped and affected by the oceanic geographical features surrounding the island of Taiwan. In Ocean Gods Temples, the ocean Gods such as Da Yu, Wu Yuan, Qu Yuan, Wang Bo, and Li Bai are worshipped. They are important historical figures of certain important historic al events that were deemed highly in the Confucian tradition. Therefore these temples are quite different form most temples in Taiwan that carry the mixed influence from Confucian, Buddhism, and Daoism. The Ocean Gods Temple’s influence to the populace seems to be declining as it is gradually fading out of people’s daily lives. In contrast, Heavenly Queen Temples appear to be able to maintain its status and vitality and remain an active belief system. “God or Deity” is a symbol or a concept that can be discussed form various perspectives. “Temple” is also an indicator that reflects the beliefs of the populace. The purpose of the article is to clarify the history of Taiwanese folklore beliefs and their implicit cultural meanings. In this paper, I would like to focus on the Ocean Gods Temple belief system through an analysis of the related historical texts and fieldtrip interviews. It is my hope that through this investigation, the essence the Taiwanese folklore beliefs would can be clarified.