This research examines the geographical locations of temples in the city of Tainan, Taiwan. The research concerns temples as urban public spaces, and how the temples promote gathering activity in urban areas. Through field research, we reviewed the geographical distribution of 307 temples and categorize 80 of the temples in Tainan City's Central and East Wards. We classified the temples according to how they were used by visitors. We also explained the historical development of the temples and described the facilities available for extended stays. We interviewed all visitors to 35 temples, excluding children under twelve years old. The interviews concerned the profiles of the visitors, their aims in visiting the temples, the areas of the temples most often used, the visitors addresses, whether visitors were contributors to the temples or not, and the time spent in the temples. The findings were as follows: 1)People often gather at the Taoist temples because they have an atmosphere of security. 2)The larger the temple site, the more people visited the temple. While there, they engaged in various activities and exchanged information. We plan to examine the support systems and temple management in order to clarify how so many people can gather at the temples in a secure atmosphere.
