According to the Yung-ch'un local gazetteer and various Patriarch Temple records, Ch'en P'u-tsu was born in Yung-ch'un county, Fukien, in the Ch'ing-li reign (1041-1043) of Emperor Jen-tsung of the Sung dynasty.
而俗名陳普足的清水祖師，雖出身佛門，卻幾番因緣，而被尊為民間信仰中的祖師。根據永春州志及各祖師廟的記載，宋仁宗慶曆年間陳普足生於福建永春縣。