山西五臺山是中國最早形成的佛教名山之一，其自北朝時期的地區信仰中心，隨著政局的轉變與佛教的發展，逐漸形成全國性，以及佛教信仰圈共認的聖地。然而，北宋時期的五臺山一方面遠離政治中心，一方面成為宋遼邊區重鎮，其發展遠不同於中古時期。作為位處邊境的佛教聖地，因襲前代遺留的聲名，使得五臺山並未完全衰落；但不可諱言，北宋時期五臺山之發展，與唐代之盛況不可同日而語。五臺山信仰雖具國際性聲名與地位，但五臺山中的佛教發展，並未能因其名聲與地位而持續興盛。說明宗教信仰之發展，實與政治、社會之關係，密不可分。

Wutai Shan in Shanxi is one of the earliest Sacred Mountains in China. Along with the change of political circumstance and the development of Buddhism, it gradually became a country-wide sacred land recognized by the Buddhist circle from a local religious center in the Northern Dynasties.However, during the Northern Song, its development in the Northern Song was far more inferior to its spectacular in the middle period, particularly in Tang. It was no longer close to the political center, but changed into a fastness at the frontier between Liao and Song. As a Buddhist sacred land at the frontier, it did not completely decline due to its reputation inheriting from the past, but its domestic religious influence did not continually enhance either even though it had world-wide esteemed reputation and significance.The development of Wutai Shan in the Northern Song reveals that the development of religion is highly associated with the contemporary political and social circumstances. In addition, Buddhism in Wutai Shan in this period also transformed the worship of Sacred Mountains in China.