Nammun Gate of Gyeongsang Left Naval Headquarters Fortress

This is the south gate, an arched stone gate, of the Gyeongsang Left Naval Headquarters Fortress of the Joseon period. It originally stood at the site of the fortress's south gate, but during the Japanese colonial period it was relocated to serve as the main gate of the former Suyeong Elementary School (now the site of Sinik Apartment). After Suyeong Elementary School moved away on 30 June 1962, the gate was left neglected, and in the late 1960s, with the help of the US military, it was moved to its present location at the entrance of Suyeong Historic Park, where it has since been preserved. The Gyeongsang Left Naval Headquarters was headed by the Gyeongsang Left Naval Commander (abbreviated Gyeongsang Jwasusa), a military official of senior third rank, who bore overall responsibility for defending the sea from the east side of the Nakdonggang River to Gyeongju. The south gate of the fortress is presumed to have been built in 1692, the eighteenth year of King Sukjong, when Naval Commander Jang U-sang repaired the fortress. The fortress had four main gates, each with its own gate tower: the east gate (Yeongilmun), the west gate (Hosomun), the south gate (Jujakmun), and the north gate (Gongjinmun). The gates are said to have been opened and closed at fixed times, signalled by the beating of drums hung at the Pyemullu (Gate-closing Pavilion) and the Gwanhaeru (Sea-viewing Pavilion). The south gate survives with its front and rear hongye (an arch built in a rainbow shape for gates, sluices, bridges and the like) and hongyegiseok (the pillar-like foundation stones placed at the edges to support the arch stones), and about 10m of fortress wall at the same height as the foundation stones remains on either side. In front of the foundation stones on the front side, a pair of baekgyeon (stone guardian-dog figures) stand side by side on square stone pillars of the same size; the presence of such dog-shaped stone figures beside a gate is not found elsewhere and is a unique feature. On the left side of the front stands a hamabi (dismounting stele), stating that everyone from the magistrate down must dismount from their horse and enter on foot. As the arch stones had gradually subsided over the years, raising the risk of collapse, the gate was dismantled and repaired in August 1993.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Suyeong-gu, Busan

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산