About 280 years ago, Ching Dynasty (1644-1911) authorities sent prospectors to nearby Peitou to look for minerals. They had to pass through Kuantu on their way to their destination, but at that time it was covered by malarial swamps and was considered hostile to settlement. Nevertheless, a small thatched temple was established in the area where the miners would light incense and pray.
但三百年前這裡猶為蠻荒之境，瘴氣逼人，容易患病，因此有人在靈山巔蓋一小廟，奉祀媽祖，採礦者每先至此燒香祈福一番，再往磺溪採礦。