The deified Matsu was originally only worshipped in the area around Putien. Because most of the people who lived in that area were fishermen, plus the many anecdotes of divine manifestations which saved those in peril at sea, Matsu gradually evolved into the patron deity of navigation.
成仙的媽祖，本來只是莆田一帶的地方神，因為信奉居民多是浮家泛海的漁民，加上顯靈拯救海難事蹟，也就逐漸成為航行的守護神。