Gomanaru Ferry Dock, Gongju

Spanning the low hills west of the Tomb of King Muryeong—including Yeonmisan Mountain—and the ferry area along the Geumgang River, this is the birthplace of the Gongju region, a historic scenic site bound up with a legend of a bear and a human. Gomanaru is Gongju's old place name: "goma (固麻)" is an old word for bear, written in Chinese characters as "Ungjin (熊津)". Under King Sinmun of Silla it was called Ungcheonju, and under King Gyeongdeok, Ungju; in 940, under King Taejo of Goryeo, it was renamed Gongju (公州), the name it still bears today. This was the route by which King Munju of Baekje moved the capital to Ungjin; the general So Jeongbang of the allied Silla–Tang forces came up the Geumgang River and stationed his troops here to attack Baekje; and after the fall of Baekje the Ungjin Protectorate was established here. It was thus both the central stage of Baekje history and a gateway of international transport. The site of Ungjindan altar, where rites were once offered to the water god of the Geumgang River, also remains here; from the Baekje period to the Joseon period it served as a space for state rites, and as a place of everyday life and a waterway for ordinary people, it carries the deep joys and sorrows of the common folk and great historical value. A beautiful and sad legend is told of a maiden bear and a young woodcutter: on the slope of Yeonmisan Mountain north of Gomanaru is a bear's den where the bear of the legend is said to have lived, looking down over Gomanaru, and the village is said to have built a shrine to the bear near the ferry crossing and held rites there to console the bear's grudge and pray for the village's peace. Not only did Gomanaru stand at the centre of Baekje history and thus carry great historical value, but the wide sandy beach along the Geumgang River and a pine grove of some 450 trees blend beautifully with the river and Yeonmisan Mountain, making it a scenic spot of outstanding historical, cultural and landscape value.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gongju, Chungnam

Designation

Scenic Site · 명승