In Hengchun Township, Pingtung County, near Dawan Beach, stands a temple known to the locals as the Eight Treasures Princess Temple, in google maps you will see its name written as Dutch Princess Babao Temple.
According to legend, during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, a Dutch princess named Margaret came to Taiwan in search of her lover, “Weixue Lin.” However, her ship encountered storms and ran aground in Kenting Bay.
The crew launched distress signals, which attracted the indigenous people of the Guizi Cape tribe (present-day She-Ding Park), who attacked the crew and tragically killed Margaret.
The Guizi Cape (龜仔角) indigenous people usually spared women, but when a group of them returned to the tribe with their spoils, one warrior, who had obtained few rewards, turned back to the beach to search for more.
There, he coincidentally encountered the surviving Margaret. The warrior initiated an attack to preserve his honor and show off, leading to her demise.
He brought back eight items as trophies: Dutch clogs, silk headscarves, pearl necklaces, gemstone rings, a leather case, gemstone earrings, a feather pen, and paper.
This led the locals to call her the “Eight Treasures Princess.”
According to local folklore from the Japanese colonial era, this Dutch princess appeared in a dream to a fisherman, expressing her desire to return to the Netherlands and requesting the locals to build her a ship. The residents complied, and after the ship set sail, she appeared in another dream expressing her willingness to stay and protect the local residents.
As a result, the Eight Treasures Princess Temple was built in her memory. In 1981, the temple underwent significant renovations and became a “three-in-one” temple, with the main deity being Wan Ying Gong, and Earth God and Eight Treasures Princess deities on either side.
Despite local legends dating the era of the Eight Treasures Princess to the late Ming and early Qing dynasties and affirming her as Dutch, there are no formal historical records to support these claims.