Five-story Stone Pagoda in Sotae-ri, Miryang

The temple where this pagoda once stood is said to have been abandoned during the reign of King Sukjong of Joseon, and since there is no firm evidence for the temple's original name, it has been passed down under names such as Cheonjusa Temple and Jugamsa Temple. The pagoda has five storeys of body stones set on a single-tier platform, with a distinctive form of platform construction and body stones that also show individual features. The platform, though a single tier, is made of four long stones, each face carved with two blind niches. At the centre of the upper surface a separate stone is placed to form a three-tiered support for the pagoda body, its upper surface sloping like a roof stone. Except for the first-storey body stone, the body stones and roof stones are each made from a single piece of stone. The first-storey body stone has thick, pillar-like corner mouldings carved at each edge and is very tall. By contrast, the body stones of the second storey and above are much reduced in height, with their corner mouldings also considerably narrower. The roof stones have eaves that curve up lightly and pleasantly at the tips, with three tiers of support carved on the underside. At each of the four corners there is a distinctive small lotus-flower carving, and at its centre a fairly large hole that appears once to have held a bell ornament. Of the pagoda's finial, only the dew-basin stone that supported the ornament and one end of an iron post remain. In 1919, a record of the pagoda's construction was discovered at its top, giving the date as the fourth year of King Yejong of Goryeo (1109), which allows the date of the pagoda's construction to be known.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Miryang, Gyeongnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물