恆春地區信仰以寺廟為中心，數量相當多，奉祀的神祇涵蓋甚凎，有自然崇祀的大樹公、風神，有移墾時的保護神媽祖、觀世音，有平埔族的祖靈崇拜延伸的老祖（矸仔佛），有鬼靈奉祀的萬應公等，這些奉祀不僅代表族群的信仰重心，更可瞭解族群活動的脈絡，從民間奉祀可以窺出恆春地區開發過程中具有幾項特質： 　　其一，恆春地區早期活動以原住民為主，神明會中的「老祖契子會」及「阿立祖」的奉祀，即為平埔族的重要信仰。 　　其二，外國勢力如荷蘭等曾在17世紀侵入，與原住民發生衝突，因之有荷蘭公主廟的建造。 　　其三，漢人開發恆春初期曾發生閩客、閩「番」的衝突，三山國王與中軍元帥之間戰鬥的傳說及其他文獻的記載，即為重要的佐證。 　　其四，寺廟的淵源可看出漢人移墾至恆春的路線不一，有由澎湖、琉球渡海上岸；有由高屏地區渡枋遼溪、重城溪一帶南下。 　　其五，恆春的祭祀圈有屬於整個鎮的中心如天后宮，有屬於幾個村落的中心如關山的高山巖，由「四股頭」（即大光、水泉、龍泉、山海四里）。這四里的屬性較近，較為團結，為相互封忙，成立不少「父母會」即為其例。 　　其六，恆春寺廟大部份建於清光緒後，漢人移入恆春地區自光緒後亦較為明顯。與牡丹社事件後清廷積極開發恆春有關。 　　總之，恆春地區的民間奉祀雖與其他地區的民間信仰相似，但信仰形成的過程及其所顯示的意義值得重視。

　　　　　Temples that the diverse deities revered, such as the God of Tree, the God of Wind derived from the natural belief, Mazu. Kuan Yin as the guardian deities for emigrants, the Lao Zu derived from the Rutux in the Pingpu people and the Answers derived from the demonolatry are the center of the religious belief in the Heng-Ch'ung area. We can trace the source of the tribes and observe on the character of exploitation in this area through the religious belief which is at the core of these different societies. There are several characteristies in the development of Heng-Ch'ung we can find: 　　First, the aborigines were the main residents in Heng-Ch'ung A-li-tsu and the Lao Zu Association are the symbols of the Pingpu people's religious belief. 　　Sccond, the Temple of the Dutch Princess was built because of the conflict between the aborigines and the foreign power such as the Dutch invaded in the 17th century. 　　Third, the records and the legends of the fight between Tri-Mountain Kings and Chungchun General can demonstrate the conflict between the Fukien-Hakka and the Fukien-Aborigines in the early time. 　　Finally, from the origin of temples we can find out the different routes of the Han's exploitation. Some people from Penghu or Lamby crossed the sea to the coast, and some others from the Kaohsiung-Pingtung Area came southe across the Fangliau and the Chencheng River. The reason that most temples were built is related to the active exploitation of the Ching dynasty in Heng-Ch'ung after the issue of Shimbaojan Namen. 　　In a word, the revealing meaning and the progress of the formation of the belief should be put on great emphasis, though the popular religious belief in the Heng-Ch'ung Area is similar to other areas in Taiwan.