Andong Imhadongsibiji Site Three-story Stone Pagoda

This is the southernmost of the pagodas remaining in Imha village. It was originally a three-storey stone pagoda, but today only two storeys of the body remain, resting on a two-tier foundation that bears the pagoda's weight. The carvings on the foundation are especially notable. The lower tier is carved with the twelve zodiac guardian figures representing the twelve time-periods, a feature rarely seen on stone pagodas, while the upper tier bears the eight guardian deities of Buddhism (a group of eight kinds of spirits who protect the Buddhist Law), giving particular prominence to the Vajra warrior figures. This practice of decorating each tier of the foundation with two different groups of figures is unusual, and makes the pagoda valuable material for the study of stone pagodas. On the evidence of its carving technique, it is thought to date from the early Goryeo period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Andong, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산