During the Japanese occupation period there were two temples on the banks of the lake: Longfeng Temple in Shuishe Village and Yihua Hall in what is now Yitashao. But when the Japanese built their hydroelectric power plants, the water levels rose, and the temples had to be removed. The Japanese electric company paid compensation, and the temple managers decided to combine their resources and build a single new temple at Songboling on the northern shore of the lake. The result was today's Wenwu Temple.The architecture of the temple has the palace style of northern China. It is a large and imposing structure, with three separate halls. On the second floor of the front hall is a shrine devoted to the First Ancestor Kaiji and the God of Literature; the central hall is devoted to Guan Gong, the God of War, and the warrior-god Yue Fei; the rear hall is dedicated to Confucius. This is the only Confucius Temple in Taiwan that keeps its central door open. Temple officials say that they do this because the temple is on the bank of Sun Moon Lake and has many tourists, so they keep the door open for the convenience of the visitors. The bronze statue of a seated Confucius makes this also the only Confucius temple in Taiwan that contains an image of the sage. In addition to Confucius, there are also statues of his disciples, Mencius and Zihsih. These three images originally came from Mainland China. They were taken to Japan to escape the Boxer Rebellion near the end of the Qing Dynasty; later on, they were reproduced and brought to Wunwu Temple.Another interesting feature of the temple is the two vermillion stone lions on the two sides of the front plaza. They were donated by Wu Huo-shih, the late chairman of the Shin Kong Life Insurance Company, whose name meant "fire lion."Year of Steps at Wenwu TempleBefore the round-the-lake road was built, the only way to get to Wunwu Temple was to take a boat to the pier below t...