Mongmyeoksan Mountain Beacon Station Site

A beacon station (bongsudae) was an old means of communication that sent urgent news using fire and smoke. Watchmen climbed a high mountain and lit fires, signalling with smoke by day and with firelight by night. The Namsan Mountain Beacon Station was established after the capital was moved to Hanyang (the old name for Seoul) in 1394, the third year of King Taejo, and remained in use for about 500 years, until the year after the Gabo Reform. Because it stood on what was then called Mongmyeoksan Mountain, the old name for Namsan, it was also known as the Mongmyeoksan Beacon Station, and because it was located in Seoul, it was also called the Gyeongbongsudae (central beacon station). In normal times one fire was lit; two when an enemy appeared; three when the enemy approached the border; four when the border was breached; and five when combat broke out with the enemy on the border. The Namsan Mountain Beacon Station played an important role as the central station where beacon signals from across the country converged. It is said that there were five stations arranged from east to west, but today the stations themselves no longer survive and only their sites remain. As no records survive to confirm their exact locations, one station was reconstructed by drawing together related sources, including the Cheonggu-do atlas.

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Where it is

Region

Jung-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물