Gyori Bangdanjeokseogyugu, Jecheon

Mojeon seoktap—stone pagodas built in imitation of brick pagodas—have generally been made since the Unified Silla period. Because the overall form of this structure does not survive, it cannot be determined with certainty whether it is the stone platform of such a pagoda, and its exact date of construction is likewise unknown, though it is presumed to date from the early Goryeo period. On the slope of Geumsusan Mountain, about 50 m south-west of the Gyori temple site, there stands a single square stone platform, shaped like the base of a pagoda, built of granite on a rock outcrop and presumed to be the remains of a mojeon seoktap. It became known to academic circles as a mojeon seoktap in the 1960s, and its rarity and importance have since been recognised, but no full-scale academic survey has ever been carried out, and its original form has been badly damaged through neglect. The platform was built on a large rock outcrop by shaping granite into brick-like blocks about 30–40 cm long and 5–15 cm thick. The base is square, each side 4 m long, with a height of about 1 m. The body of the first storey forms a layer 107 cm high, above which survive the remains of a square roof section with each side about 211 cm long. At present only part of the base and the first storey remain: the north-east side has collapsed, though part of the west side survives. The interior has been badly dug into, to the point that bedrock is visible at the centre, evidence of looting, and numerous fallen stones are scattered around the site, suggesting that a considerable number have been lost down the cliff below. About 50 m north-west of this structure, at the related Gyori temple site, the low stone foundations of a building survive, along with scattered plinth stones shaped from natural rock. Roof tiles recovered from the site include flat tiles with a herringbone pattern, tiles with a lattice pattern, and tiles with a wave pattern; all of the excavated tiles date to the Goryeo period, suggesting they are contemporary with this stone structure. The temple precinct covers an area of about 200 pyeong (roughly 660 m²).

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Where it is

Region

Jecheon, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산