Doksanseong Fortress and Semadae Site, Osan

Doksanseong is also known as Dokseongsanseong. In December 1592, the twenty-fifth year of King Seonjo, during the Imjin War, General Gwon Yul led some 20,000 soldiers here from Jeolla Province, defeated tens of thousands of Japanese troops and held the fortress, blocking the enemy's advance. It is not clear when Doksanseong was first built, but it is thought to have originally been constructed by Baekje, and it is believed to have continued to serve as a strategic military site during Unified Silla and Goryeo. In 1594, the twenty-seventh year of King Seonjo, local people rebuilt the mountain fortress; in 1602, the thirty-fifth year of King Seonjo, once the Imjin War had ended, the district magistrate Byeon Eung-seong repaired it again; and further work was carried out in 1792 and 1796, the sixteenth and twentieth years of King Jeongjo. The fortress wall is 1,100 m in circumference and has four gates, but a serious drawback was the shortage of water inside. Because of this weakness a legend has grown up around Semadae (洗馬臺), the "horse-washing platform": General Gwon Yul is said to have led a white horse to the top of the mountain and made a show of washing it with white rice, tricking the Japanese troops into believing that water was plentiful inside the fortress, so that they withdrew.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Osan, Gyeonggi

Designation

Historic Site · 사적