Yeongsan-eup Fortress Site, Changnyeong

An eupseong is a walled town fortress that protected the residents of a county or prefecture while also serving military and administrative functions. This fortress, in Yeongsan-myeon, Changnyeong-gun, South Gyeongsang Province, is thought to have originally been built of earth and later rebuilt in stone during the Joseon dynasty, though the exact date of its construction is unknown. The Changnyeong Eupji (Gazetteer of Changnyeong) records that the town wall had a circumference of 3,810 cheok (about 1,154 m) and a height of 12 cheok 5 chon (about 4 m), and that it was built during the reign of King Seonjo of Joseon (r. 1573–1618) but later collapsed. The surviving section of wall is about 106 m long, 2.5 m high and 1.5 m wide. Its foundation was laid with huge stones, upon which smaller stones were carefully stacked. Today the site has largely become built-up area and farmland, and most of the wall has collapsed or been destroyed; a pond said to have existed inside the fortress has since been filled in. Whereas eupseong were rarely built inland during the Joseon period, Yeongsan-myeon suffered frequent raids by Japanese pirates in the late Goryeo period, and during the Japanese invasions of Korea General Gwak Jae-u (1552–1617) raised a righteous army based around nearby Hwawangsanseong Fortress — showing that this was a strategically important location.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Changnyeong, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물