Xuandu Temple, on the hillside of Mount Heng in Hengshan County, is the mountain's most important Taoist institution. The temple complex is larger than it appears from the approach path, with multiple courtyards and halls dedicated to different aspects of Taoist practice. The principal hall houses statues of the major Taoist deities associated with the Southern Sacred Mountain.
The temple is set in mature woodland and has a quieter atmosphere than the more visited Buddhist temples higher on the mountain. Taoist ritual is still performed here, and monks in grey robes are a regular presence. The mountain's religious tradition — Taoism arrived first, in the Han dynasty, and Buddhism followed in the 5th century — is easier to understand after visiting both a Taoist temple like this one and the Buddhist temples higher up.