Heritage site
Phnom Chhnork
Phnom Chhnork (ភ្នំឈ្ងោក), also written Phnom Chhngok, is a hill in Kampot (កំពត) province with a small pre-Angkorian brick temple inside a limestone cave.[1][2] It lies about 12 kilometers (7 miles) from Kampot and 25 kilometers (16 miles) from Kep (កែប), between Kampot town and Kep.[1][2]
The hill and the cave
A Buddhist temple stands on one side of the hill, and the cave opens on its western side.[1] Some 200 steps climb to the cave,[3] and on the way down into it is a small elephant-shaped rock.[1] Another of its rocks resembles an old turtle.[3] The ruin lies about 50 meters (160 feet) inside the cave, where the stalactites and stalagmites around it are slowly growing into its brickwork.[2][4] A winding passage leads back out of the hill a little north of the stairs at the entrance.[1]
The temple
The small temple is of red brick,[3] set against the rock face of the cave and built round a stalactite.[1] Inside, water from the stalactite falls on a stalagmite that forms the linga.[1] The linga marks the temple as dedicated to Shiva (ព្រះឥសូរ).[3][5]
Its base has pronounced moldings, its walls carry pilasters, and its pyramidal roof rises in three tiers.[1] A short porch in front carries an ornamented arched pediment; what is left of its lintel shows a makara spewing a ribbon.[1] In design it resembles the Phnom Totong cave temple; the cave temple at Phnom Khyang is built differently from both.[1] For the most part it is well preserved, and a little of its carving survives.[2] Buddhist shrines and carvings were added in the cave later.[5]
History
The temple's date is uncertain. It is dated to the 4th to 5th century,[4] to the 5th century in the Funan (ហ្វូណន) era,[1] and to the 7th century.[2][5] Which king had it built is not known.[3]
The site carries inscription K. 46, which has a section in Khmer script.[1] George Coedès published it in 1954, in volume 6 of Inscriptions du Cambodge.[1] Étienne Aymonier listed the site as Phnom Ngouk in 1900, and Étienne Lunet de Lajonquière entered it as Phnom Nguk, no. 41, in his 1902 inventory of the monuments of Cambodia.[1] The 1926 list of historic monuments gave it no. 111, "a cave with a brick cell", and Henri Parmentier described it as Nok in 1927.[1] One account dates its rediscovery to the early 20th century, after it had been overgrown and forgotten,[5] though it appears in the 1900 inventory.[1]
Worship
Buddhists know the shrine as a place of healing.[4] Couples who visit touch the linga, believing it helps them conceive.[3]
Phnom Kbal Romeas, Phnom Totong and Phnom Khyang are other cave sites near it.[1]
References 5
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Hello Angkor, Rodney Charles L'Huillier, Phnom Chhngok Temple (updated January 1, 2026)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Canby Publications, Angkor Temple Guide, Phnom Chhnork (undated)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Leighton Travels, The Curious Phnom Chhngok Cave Temple (February 5, 2021)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Tourism Cambodia, Phnom K'Chnor, Kampot (undated)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Outlook Traveller, A Guide To The Secret Caves Of Kampot, Cambodia: Things To Do, What To See (updated July 23, 2025)
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