Tens of thousands of years ago, the Mianshan Mountains was a lake named Jinyang. In its center there was the Dragon Pond lived an old dragon of Jinyang together with other water deities.
In the reign years of Emperor Shun of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), the area was hit by a serious flood and water ghosts stirred up, making people leave their hometown and wandering about. Emperor Shun ordered Gun to control the water. Gun blocked the flood water but the blocked water overrun, which caused heavier damager to the local people. Gun was charged for his unsuccessful control of the water. Later the emperor asked Gun¡¯s son Yu to control the flood water. Yu continued to fight against flood. His determination moved the god on the sky and the latter required a goddess to help him. One day, Yu inspected the situation and was thirsty. He saw a small boat and walked to it for drinking water. A woman on the boat presented him a bowl of water in both hands. When Yu received the bowl and wanted to drink it, the woman broke a breach on the edge of the bowl with a stone. The water in the bowl flew out through the breach. When Yu wanted to enquire for the reason, the woman smiled and nodded to him while looking at the broken bowl in the hands of Yu before she left Yu alone. With the bowl in hands, Yu thought time and again and finally he realized she was a deity to tell him how to control the flood water. Yu then broke open the Lingshi Mouth to let the water flow out the lake.
Yu¡¯s decision controlled the flood water and turned the lake into fertile fields and undulating mountain ranges. The people cultivated these fields and had ease life. According to The Spring and Autumn Annals, the area was Wuxian County around the present Diancun Village in Wucheng City, Jiexiu. The mountains were called the Mianshan Mountains for their undulating landform. The water deities in the Jinyang Lake followed the water to other places. But the old dragon couple and their five sons refused to go and lived on the mountains after the water retreated.
The local people went up to the mountains to pray the old king of dragon for rain when it had less rain. The dragon was the god of the water and it was easy for him to call for wind and rain. The king of dragon gave what the people prayed for. The people always go up the mountains to present their sacrifices to the king of dragon to express their thanks. After the abode of deities in the heaven knew the kindly action of the king of dragon, the king of dragon was called back to the heaven and was promoted to be Jinxian God to control all the water deities under the heaven, leaving behind his wife and five sons still on the Mianshan Mountains. Five dragons called wind and rain when the people needed and eliminated natural disasters for them. They got their high reputation around. To remember their contributions, the local people built Five Dragon Temple on the Mianshan Mountains and presented their sacrifices on festivals or harvesting seasons. The sacrificing activities have never stopped since then.
Later four elder sons were sent by the abode of deities to control East Sea, South Sea, West Sea and North Sea and became the kings of four seas separately. The youngest son indulged himself in play and was late to call rain several times which caused disasters to the local areas. His mother punished him and shut him inside a well. The Five Dragon Temple on the Mianshan Mountains shows the story concerning the punishment on the youngest son. Later, the youngest dragon corrected his bad habits and was conscientious in providing clouds and rain and arranging clear and cloudy days. Finally, he received the order from the abode of deities to control all lakes, ponds and wells under the heaven.
