Inthe early 19th century, King Gia Long, the founder of the NguyenDynasty, passed by and named the five mountains as Ngu Hanh Son. Healso named each of them according to one of the five elements of theuniverse: Kim Son (metal of gold), Moc Son (wood), Thuy Son (water),Hoa Son (fire), and Tho Son (earth). According to Oriental philosophy,metal, wood, water, fire and earth are five elements that create theuniverse. Five is a very important number in oriental mentality andlife. And so, the five mountains that compose Marble Mountain arefilled with mysterious.

ThuySon is both the highest and the most beautiful. Marble mountainsassociates with many different legends. Thuy Son, covering an area of15ha, has three peaks namely Thuong Thai, Trung Thai and Ha Thai. As aresult, the pagoda built on the mountain was named Tam Thai. Thuy Sonhas been exploited as a popular tourist resort because of its alluringbeauty. Stone steps carved into the mountain lead to Tam Thai Pagodawhere Phat Di Lac is worshipped. In the past, the pagoda paid tributeto Hindu and Buddhist gods and is now dedicated to Cham deities. Alsoon the cliff of the mountain are such beautiful grottoes as Linh NhamGrotto, Van Thong Grotto, Tang Chon Grotto and Huyen KhongGrotto. Huyen Khong Cave was the base for Vietnamese revolutionariesduring wartime.

The MarbleMountains are famous for their traditional stone engraving activities.In Dong Hai village close to Thuy Son, 600 families chisel stoneproducing statues, jewelry, and art work. Stone from the MarbleMountains has been exported to many countries.

Culturaland historical vestiges are still on every pagoda and tower of theearly 19th century and on Champa sculptures of the 14th and 15thcentury. There are poets of the Le and Tran dynasty engraved on stones.All monuments such as the grave of Capital Tran Quang Khai’s mother, atemple for worshiping Ngoc Lan princess (Minh Mang King’s youngersister), autograph of conferring Tam Thai pagoda to be the nationalone, Da Chong tunnel, Ba Tho cave, Kim Son mountain, Am Phu cave, etc.are forceful evidences to the legendary Marble Mountains.

Thestone carving village stretching along the road leading to the Ngu HanhSon entrance is also a very attractive sight for visitors. At thisvillage, you can admire all those wonderful works created by patientcraftsmen right in front of you. All the stones for the works are takenand transferred from the Marble Mountains.

The Marble Mountains are situated between Da Nang City and Hoi An ancient town and very close to Non Nuoc Beach,which stretches for kilometres with clean and white sand and is one ofthe nicest beaches in Vietnam, which is very convenient for visitorswho want to go climbing and bathing. Ngu Hanh Son isfamiliar to almost everyone who has been to Da Nang. It is so wellknown that many people consider it as the symbol of the area.