Dated to the 11th century, the temple was dedicated to Xuan Wu, or Trấn Vũ (chữ Hán: 鎮武) in Vietnamese, one of the principal deities in Taoism.

It is a short walk from Trúc Bạch Lake where pilot (and future United States senator) John McCain was shot down in October 1967.

[3] During its long history, Quán Thánh Temple has been renovated several times, most recently in 1893[3] when the principal gate and the shrine were redone, so the architecture is a mixture of the many different styles of the imperial era.

The main features of Quán Thánh Temple are a large yard shaded by a giant banyan tree and a shrine that contains the famous bronze statue of Trấn Vũ.

[4] In 1677, during the reign of Emperor Lê Huy Tông,[1] artisans from the nearby village of Ngũ Xã offered Quán Thánh Temple a very large statue of Trấn Vũ in black bronze, which remains today.

This statue is measured 3.96 metres (13.0 ft) in height, weighs around 3,600 kilograms (7,900 lb)[5] and depicts Trấn Vũ as a deity with his two symbolic animals, the serpent and the turtle.

[3] Beside the statues of Trấn Vũ and Trùm Trọng, the main shrine also has a valuable collection of ancient texts such as poems or duilians which date from the 17th and 18th century.

[3] After each restoration, a stele was often kept in the temple for the record; the oldest one dated from 1677 while the latest was made by viceroy Hoàng Cao Khải in 1894 during the reign of Thành Thái Emperor during the French colonial era.

By tradition, Hanoians often come to Quán Thánh Temple on the occasion of Tết or the first and fifteenth of each lunar month (new and full moon respectively) to worship and pray for health, luck and happiness.