Shih Chih-hsun, the store's seventh-generation proprietor, notes that legend has it that the burning of incense dates to the lifetime of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. When it was hot and stuffy, devotees listening to his sermons found themselves becoming drowsy, and their body odor detracted from the ceremonial decorum.
傳奇就從香的源頭說起。施金玉三房第 7 代傳人施起燻表示，「焚香」的雛形據傳是佛祖釋迦牟尼講道時，天氣悶熱，聽聞佛法的信徒在微風吹拂下，難擋瞌睡蟲侵擾，加上臭汗淋漓，實有失禮之責。