Three-story Stone Pagoda at Hyangseongsa Temple Site, Sokcho

It stands at the entrance to Seorak-dong, on the way from Sokcho into Seoraksan Mountain; even if the pagoda's present location is exactly where it originally stood, nothing of the temple site can now be recognised around it. This stone pagoda has a three-storey body erected on a two-tier base, faithfully following the style of Silla stone pagodas. Several stone slabs were joined to lay the ground stone, and the base stone of the lower tier was laid in the same way. Pillar shapes are carved at the corners of the middle stone of the lower tier, and two pillar carvings are placed at the centre of each face. The upper tier of the base likewise has pillar shapes carved at each corner, with two pillars carved at the centre of each face. In the body of the pagoda, the body stone and roof stone of each storey are each carved from a single block; corner pillars are carved on each body stone but there is no other decoration. It is unusual that the roof stones are somewhat thick, and the underside has five tiers of eaves supports. The slope of the roof stones is steep, while the upward curve at the corners is very slight, giving the whole pagoda a heavy feel. However, small holes for hanging wind bells are found at the four corners of the roof stones, which appear to lighten the overall heavy impression. This pagoda was dismantled for repair work in 1966, at which time a square-shaped reliquary chamber for enshrining the Buddha's sarira was found at the centre of the third-storey body stone, but the reliquary and any accompanying relics were already gone. Unlike the general style of Unified Silla pagodas, which usually display great formative beauty, this pagoda is heavy overall in form and shows much stylised, formulaic decoration. Even so, it is the northernmost Silla-period stone pagoda on the east coast, giving it very great value for preservation. Roof tiles dating from the late Unified Silla to the early Goryeo period have been found at the temple site, suggesting that the pagoda was made around the 9th century.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Sokcho, Gangwon

Designation

Treasure · 보물