Ibamsanseong Fortress, Jangseong

An important defensive point for Jeolla-do, this mountain fortress extends along the Noryeong Mountains and marks the boundary with Jeongeup in North Jeolla Special Self-Governing Province. It is a valley-enclosing fortress built along the ridges of Ibamsan Mountain, which is 626 m high, and about 3.2 km of its walls survive. Ibamsanseong Fortress is recorded in many old documents, though none records when it was first built. The earliest references to the fortress appear in the Goryeosa and the Goryeosa jeoryo, which record that in 1256, the 43rd year of King Gojong of Goryeo, General Song Gun-bi won a battle here against the Mongol army, suggesting that a fortress already stood on this site before the Goryeo period. In 1409, the ninth year of King Taejong of Joseon, the fortress was rebuilt, and later Yi Gwi and Yi Gwi-hyeong widened the walls and raised the lower sections. The south and north gates survive today in their original form. The walls are built almost vertically, and water was dammed to secure a sufficient supply, allowing the fortress to be held for long periods; it is regarded as a representative example of late Joseon defensive fortifications.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jangseong, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Historic Site · 사적