Cheoinseong Fortress

Cheoinseong stands at Agok-ri, Namsa-eup, Yongin, on a natural hill 70.9 m above sea level that projects where a ridge runs east from Hyeongjebong Peak. It lies on the route from Yongin to Jinwi, at a strategic point on the road linking Suwon, Osan and Anseong. The fortress has a trapezoidal plan with a total perimeter of 351 m; though small, its interior is level, giving it good spatial efficiency. The walls are higher on the south-west side and lower on the north-east, and the gates were of the open-frame type, with two apparently set in the north-eastern wall. The walls made use of the natural terrain, with earth piled up by the rammed-earth method at low points: wooden posts were driven in at regular intervals, boards were set between them, and soils of differing character were compacted in place to build up the wall. However, the stone foundation course commonly found in rammed-earth fortress walls from the Unified Silla period onward has not yet been confirmed at Cheoinseong. Artefacts recovered include roof tiles, earthenware, Goryeo- and Joseon-period ceramics, long swords and arrowheads. Judging from the construction technique and the excavated finds, Cheoinseong is presumed to have been built between the end of Silla and the early Goryeo period. Cheoinseong is well known as the site of a victory over the Mongol army during its second invasion. In 1232, the 19th year of King Gojong of Goryeo, when the Mongol army attacked Cheoinseong, the victorious monk-general Kim Yun-hu shot and killed the Mongol commander Salyetap with an arrow; this is recorded in both the Goryeosa (History of Goryeo) and the Wonsa (History of Yuan). The original name of Cheoinseong was "Cheoin-bugok-seong". A bugok was an administrative unit set up in areas too small to be designated a county or district. Cheoinseong is an important site proving that even a bugok could have its own administrative-seat fortress.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongin, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물