Naejuchukseong Fortress Stele

This stele was erected in 1731, the seventh year of King Yeongjo, to commemorate the large-scale rebuilding, by the magistrate of Dongnae, Jeong Eon-seop (鄭彦燮), of Dongnae fortress, which had fallen into ruin during the Japanese invasions of 1592. According to the inscription, the town wall measured about 1.4 km in circumference and 3.9 m in height. In 1731 the old wall site was surveyed, and 52,000 men were mobilised from 65 counties of Gyeongsang Province; using a total of 417,050 man-days of labour, 4,585 seok of rice, 1,552 rolls of cloth and 13,454 nyang of cash, the wall proper was built in the fourth month. The gates were completed in the fifth month, and the gate towers in the seventh. The fortress as completed measured about 3.8 km in circumference and 5.1 m in height. The front of the stele records the facts of the construction in twenty lines of text, while the back lists the names of the officials who took part in the work. It is a large stele, 270 cm high and 107 cm wide. Its capstone bears a pair of hornless dragons (isu) holding a magic jewel in their mouths, and its plain base is carved with a lotus design. The inscription was composed by Kim Gwang-ak, chalbang (postal-station chief) of Hwangsando, written out by Song Gwang-je, and its seal-script title was written by Yu U-gi, magistrate of Hyeonpung. This stele provides accurate source material for the study of Dongnae fortress, and is valuable evidence for research into the history of fortress construction in the late Joseon period. It originally stood outside the south gate of Dongnae fortress, but was moved during the Japanese colonial period to its present site, behind the Dokjindaeamun gate within Geumgang Park.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Dongnae-gu, Busan

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물