臺東縣與花蓮縣在清代一直到開山撫番政策執行後,漢人移民才慢慢開始在軍隊的保護下進行移墾,但是因為開墾困難、成效有限,加上漢族統治者與原住民間發生多次衝突,清代對於後山的經營成效十分有限,但是在東海岸偏僻的長濱鄉寧埔村,卻有一個三山國王廟:寧城宮。三山國王信仰雖然並非絕對的客家信仰方式,但客家鄉親與三山國王信仰間有著歷史上的淵源也是事實。過去關於寧城宮的文史資料有兩種說法,但都認為當地神尊最早是由漢人攜帶至當地,包括神明是清軍攜來來;以及訪談前任宮主透過乩童扶鸞,表示廟中三山國王乃由客籍人士自彰化荷婆崙原廟攜來。但是城山社區在清代中期以來一直都是一個平埔族聚落,甚至到了日治初期日本學者進行調查時都是如此;當地的平埔族乃是來自屏東平原鳳山八社的馬卡道族,最早的族人在道光年間便已進入後山,而彭仔存庄在1857年以前也完成了居住族群的交替,由阿美族轉變為馬卡道族,一個平埔聚落卻有三山國王廟,這是一個十分值得探討的文化現象。本研究透過文獻分析與社區口述歷史,鋪陳出臺東縣唯一的三山國王廟在居民記憶中的歷史,並針對寧城宮所在地城山社區進行實地踏查,瞭解城山社區的居民族群現況與民俗信仰活動。
Because the policy changing in 1875, the Han immigrants began to move to Taitung and Hualien slowly in the Qing Dynasty. With reclamation difficulties coupled with the conflicts between Han rulers and aborigines, the reclamation was not successful. But we can find there is a San-Sun Kings Temple: Ningcheng Palace located in the east coast of the remote Ningpu Village in Taitung. Although the San-Sun Kings belief is not an absolute way of Hakka, but the Hakka folks and the San-Sun Kings faith has a historical connection is also a fact. There were two different argument about the history of Ningcheng temple. Both of that believed the first San-Sun King was carried by the Han Chinese to the Ningpu Village in Taitung. Researcher interviewed the former master of Ningcheng temple, the old man said the San-Sun King was carried by Hakka people from Hebao Lun in Changhua county to Ningpu village and he wad told by a shaman. But the local community has always been a Pingpu settlement since the middle of the Qing Dynasty, even to the early Japanese rule. The local Pingpu people who lived there was immigrated from Pingtung Plain. The earliest tribe moved to Ningpu village in 1857. It is an interesting fact that there is a San-Sun kings temple located in Pingpu settlement. This study established the history of the only San-Sun kings temple in Taitung by literature analysis and oral history investigation, and explored the local religion and fork activities by field study.