He traveled to China, studying at Mount Zhongnan as a student of the influential Huayan master Zhiyan (智儼) and as a senior colleague of Fazang (法藏), with whom he established a lifelong correspondence.

This is a commentary on his mandala-like diagram haein do ('Ocean Seal'), which consists of 210 Chinese characters that express the essence of the Huayan doctrine.

At one point they were captured by border guards and held for ten days as suspected spies but were subsequently released and expelled.

A Korean folk story relates how, when he was young, Uisang fell in love with a beautiful girl, Myo Hwa ("Delicate Flower") but she was chosen by the king of Silla to be sent as a gift to the Chinese Emperor thus thwarting their relationship.

The temple name means "Floating Rock" and is derived from an incident in which Myo Hwa, as a dragon, scares away some bandits by magically raising a boulder into the air.