King Hùng Vương the 18th had a daughter called Mị Nương who was extraordinarily beautiful. When she reached the age of marriage, her reputation was even more exploding. The king decided to choose a talented husband for her. One day, two young men, brilliant in their intelligence and handsomeness unexpectedly arrived at the same time and requested to marry Mi Nuong. One called himself Sơn Tinh, the God of high Mountains and Profound Forests, the other, Thủy Tinh, the God of Rivers and Immense Seas. Embarrassed, the king did not know whom to choose because both of them had incomparable talents and infinite powers. After a moment of thinking, the king ordered a challenge: one hundred plates of sweet rice, one elephant with nine tusks, one rooster with nine cockcombs, one horse with nine red manes. Who would bring them in first would be the spouse of Mị Nương.
The following day, at dawn, Sơn Tinh arrived first with all the presents and took the belle to the mountains. Thuy Tinh showed up later, loaded with all the gifts but the princess had already gone. Confused and furious, Thủy Tinh lashed out, raising the water level, decided to penetrate the mountains to get Mi Nuong back. Sơn Tinh raised the the mountains even higher.
Thủy Tinh deployed his talent, called in winds, tempests, lightnings and storms, shaking all the mountains and forests. Sơn Tinh maintained the mountains unshakable. Thủy Tinh resorted to marine troops and lashed out with the current, mounted massive assaults. Sơn Tinh, with his iron nets, cut reinforcing routes, rolled down rocks to succumb spirits and crash marine monsters that floated at the derivation.
After three days and three nights, beaten more and more everyday, Thủy Tinh gave up and withdrew his troops and brought back the waves. To assure his tranquility Sơn Tinh did a miracle by raising the two mountains of the spouses higher than the places of the Gods. Later, people will call them Mountain of the Lord and Mountain of the Lady; at the foot of these mountains a temple was dedicated to Sơn Tinh and Mị Nương.