A stone, resembling a human being, set in a stone chamber shrine at a small hamlet called "E-kham-a" of Chhau-tun Town, has been apotheosised for more than 100 years (#S19; see figure 19). Even though it looked like a normal shrine dedicated to the Land God, I was told that it was the Stone God.

In Chhen-th?Lane, we can find a stone (#S21; see figures 21 & 22) with human appearance worshipped as the Land God in a stone chamber that is hardly ever seen in Taiwan. There is a saying that since the initiator of the rebuilding of the temple of the Land God has to be the god's inferior, nobody there wants to be in the low office. Therefore the temple is now still a stone shrine (Lin Mei-rong 1987:68). But when I came to visit the site in 1992, they told me that a new temple for the Land God is going to be built after the road has been widened so that the dolmen will have to be removed.(note.7) They also told me that when the new temple has been built, they plan to bury the dolmen under the temple because the dolmen is also divine.

In the Land God Temple of Tua-khut of Sin-hong Ward, a stone is worshipped as the Stone God (#S27; see figure 29). Although no villager knows the origin of the Stone God, I suspect that the stone was originally the stone that represented the Land God of the hamlet. Later on, when the economic condition of the hamlet improved, villagers bought the wooden statue which represents the patron deity of the Temple and set the original stone aside. Nowadays, since the original worshippers of the stone Land God have died or moved out, younger residents have come to consider the stone as the Stone God.

In the Land God Temple of Hok-bin Kiong (literally, Happy People Palace) of E-huan Field (Lin Mei-rong 1987:75), a stone with human appearance is worshipped as the Land God (#S28; see figure 30) in temple. Different from other stone deities, the stone is clothed in a black robe. However, even though there is also no record for the origin of the deified stone, I guess its human appearance brought about its deification.

In Chui-bue-a Land God Temple of Hu-liau Ward, a stone in a gown is put at the right of the altar as the Land God (#S30; see figure 32). The villagers told me that it is the Land God but did not know its origin. I think it is because it looked human and so was deified.

The statue of the patron deity of ?-liau Land God Temple is a stone (#S31; see figure 33) with human appearance. The villagers do not know where the stone is from, nor do they ask him to adopt their unhealthy children. Nowadays, the stone deity has become a patron deity for gambling.

There is a stone (#S32; see figure 34) with human appearance deified in the Land God Temple of Khe-chiu, Phek-chiu Ward. I was told that the stone is the statue of the Land God.

There are three stones, each with human appearance, worshipped in a small shrine of Chhen-kah Ward and called the stone Land God (#S39; see figure 41). Some call them "the Land God" ("Tho.-ti Kong") and some call them the Stone God ("Chio- thau Kong"). I was told by a woman that: "because there was no Land God Temple when they came to this area to reside, they chose some stones with human appearance to worship. These three stones are the stones they chose for the worship of the Land God and it is a mistake to call them 'the Stone God'."

The stone in a big Land God Temple called Tiong-kheng-bio (literally, the Temple of Eternal Celebration) located in Tong-an Street of Taipei is also of interest. A black stone (#S42; see figure 44) with human appearance is enshrined in the centre of the altar of the Land God temple in front of the patron deity statue. A local leader told me that it was the original stone Land God (Chio-tho.-ti-kong) of the temple. He also told that their ancestors, the pioneers of this area, established a tiny shrine under the tree which is located behind the present temple and chose the cylindrical stone as the Land God for worship when they first came to the place.

The patron deity in a temple of Chhim-khen Rural-town in Taipei County is a stone goddess. People told me that because their seniors found a stone looking like the goddess Granny (Ma- cho.), they regarded it as divine and enshrined it. Even though now a statue has been moulded for the worship and we can only find the stone from the back of the statue, it is still called the stone Granny (Ma-cho., #S45; see figure 48).

In the temple of the Land God of Tua-kham Village, we can find a stone (#S51; see figure 55) with human appearance worshipped beside the statue of the patron deity. An elder told me that because the stone looked like the Land God, it was picked up by a villager and worshipped as the Land God of the hamlet.

In the Land God temple of Si-hun-a, a stone (#S54; see figure 59) is venerated as the Land God beside the statue of the patron deity. The person who was in charge of the temple told me that the stone Land God with the censer was brought by one of his ancestors from China. It was originally put under a big rock after his ancestors settled down in this area. A year ago, because a tunnel is going to be built through the rock, the stone Land God was moved to the site. He also told me that it was the Land God who decided the site for the present temple.

The Stone God of Chhau-o. Hamlet (#S58; see figure 63) is a famous in this area. There are three stones each with human appearance worshipped in the temple. The biggest one wearing a gown is the statue of the patron deity, the other two stones are comparatively small. They told me that about two hundred years ago Mr. Lim, a farmer, found a human-shaped stone in his field. He regarded it as a manifestation of the Stone God and decided to deify it under the altar of his home. Later on the God told the farmer to build a shrine to let him be worshipped in public to bless more people.

Near the exit of the First Freeway to Hong-guan City, a stone with human appearance is enshrined as the Stone God (#S60; see figure 64). A legend says that about a hundred years ago, a local inhabitant called Mr. Lim ?g found the stone beside Dajiaxi (i.e. a big river). He regarded it as a god and enshrined it. The stone soon became a patron deity of children and even pregnant women like to worship in the temple to bless their unborn children.

In the Land God Temple of Ji-si H? in Chhau-o. Hamlet, several stones each with human appearance are worshipped as the Land God (#S61; see figure 65). An elder told me that originally they moulded a statue of the Land God with earth. But the earth- made statue was so fragile that they had to find a stone of human appearance to replace the earth-made statue. When the area became prosperous a couple of years ago, they also bought a sculptured statue of the Land God and enshrined it in the temple with the stones.

Moreover, the stone representing the Stone Goddess of Lek- biau Ward (#S4; see figure 4), the Stone God of Ka-hin Ward (#S35; see figure 37) and the Stone Grandfather of Ka-seng Ward (#S3; see figure 3) are also stones with human appearance.

B, With Auspicious Animal Appearance:

At the left side of the stone Granny temple (#S45), a stone is worshipped as a stone deity (#S46; see figure 48). The custodian of the goddess temple told me that originally people found a big stone with the appearance of a crane on the top of the mountain behind the location of the temple. They believed it divine and moved it down to look after and to worship it, and named it the White Crane Immortal (Bai He Xian). When the lottery game called "everybody happy" was flourishing in Taiwan, many gamblers came to worship it.

A stone looking like a couple of Turtles is enshrined in a tiny temple of Ken-ki Road of Sui-hong Town, beside the main road leading to Gi-lan County. People call it Chio-ku-kong and Ch?- ku-mo (literally, Grandfather and Grandmother of Stone Turtles). I was told that when the main road was widened about 60 years ago, about fifty workers tried but failed to remove the rock which was located on the planned road. After they used every effort and turned it upside down, they found the bottom of the rock looking really like a couple of turtles. Therefore, they realised that the rock was actually divine and decided to enshrine it as the stone Turtle (#S56; see figure 61).

At the end of Gien-kiu-in Rd, a big black stone (#S55; see figure 60) is deified as the Stone God. An elderly lady told me that the Stone God has been worshipped since at least when she was a child. Because the stone looked like a lion, it was deified.