Xiangshan Temple is the most rewarding historic sight near the city proper. The temple traces its origins to the Eastern Han period and is strongly associated with Guanyin worship, a link that still brings pilgrims for incense and festival days.
The buildings have been repaired and rebuilt over time, as active Chinese temples usually have, but the hillside setting and the layers of devotion give the place more atmosphere than Pingdingshan's newer urban parks. It is a good half-day target if you do not have time to push out to Yaoshan.