Master Manyeon was on his way back to Songgwangsa Temple on Mount Jogyesan after completing a period of practice at Wonhyosa Temple on Mount Mudeungsan. Along the way, when he reached the middle slopes of Mount Manyeonsan, he fell briefly asleep, and in his dream, he is said to have seen sixteen arhats attending the Buddha Sakyamuni. When he awoke, the surrounding area was blanketed entirely in snow — but only the spot where he had lain was melted, with steam rising gently from it.
Regarding this strange sight as no ordinary occurrence, Master Manyeon did not continue on his journey but instead built an earthen shelter on that very spot and began his practice there. The temple that eventually grew from this beginning was Manyeonsa, founded in 1208 (the fourth year of King Huijong's reign). It gained enough standing to be designated, under King Taejong of Joseon, one of the state-recognized temples of the Chongnam sect, and today continues as a branch temple of Songgwangsa, the head temple of the 21st district of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. Whether this story, born from a brief afternoon nap, is factual or was later embellished is difficult to confirm, but what is certain is that a temple has stood on this very spot for more than 800 years since.