Neungseong

The fortress is built across a mountain peak 317m in elevation, with a relative height of about 200m facing Daejeon and about 100m facing Okcheon, forming the southeastern part of the Gyejoksan mountain range that makes up the eastern boundary of the Daejeon basin, and extends onto its eastern slope. The summit on which the fortress stands is shaped like a peanut shell, high at both ends and low and narrow in the middle: the west wall follows the natural terrain along the western ridge, while the south and north walls each wrap around the peaks at either end before descending the eastern slope, forming a shallow basket-like shape. The fortress's overall terrain is higher in the west and lower in the east, showing that its main purpose of overlooking the surrounding area was directed westward, toward the city of Daejeon; Bomunsanseong Fortress can be seen to the west, and Bipasanseong Fortress is visible to the southwest. On a ridge about 1.7km south of the fortress lies an old route known as "Bireumdeul Pass", connecting the Panam-dong area of Donggu, Daejeon, toward Okcheon-gun, but it is somewhat too far off for this fortress to have overlooked effectively; it is presumed that Galhyeonseong Fortress, adjoining the pass to the south, served that role instead. In plan, Neungseong is close to a trapezoid, with a long south wall and a short north wall; the total length of the walls comes to about 550m. The site of the south gate lies at the western end of the south wall, and the site of the east gate lies in the southern part of the east wall. On the wall south of the east gate site there is a jichi, a bastion projecting from the wall; given its closeness to the east gate, it is thought to have served as a defensive platform guarding that gate. The state of preservation of the walls varies from place to place, the best-preserved sections being the wall east of the south gate site, the wall south of the east gate site, and the bastion. The techniques used to build the walls differ noticeably from place to place, which is of interest: in some sections the stones were laid with their front face close to square, while in others flat stones with a more rectangular face were used. The square-faced stonework is the technique seen in Baekje fortresses such as Wolpyeongsanseong Fortress, while the flat, rectangular-faced stonework is commonly found in fortresses first built by Silla, such as Gyejoksanseong Fortress. This suggests that Neungseong was built and occupied by both Silla and Baekje, a conclusion supported by the pottery recovered within the fortress, which likewise consists of both Silla and Baekje wares.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Dong-gu, Daejeon

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물