Quick update here.
I built the panq bin (on another machine) found at:
https://github.com/guedou/TS-453Be
and simply moved it into /root on my unraid machine temporarily. Executing it with "panq check" detects the chipset. Temperature does return a value, and setting fan does effect *A* fan! My TS877 has 2cpu blower fans and 2 drive cage fans, with independent rpm control. This single fan option appears to control just the drive cage fans.
At this point it's clear this application was written for a specific hardware setup (QNAP TS-453Be) but qnap seems to have some consistency across some models, and it's a good starting point for me. I'll try to continue updates with my progress in case it helps others.