Cheorwon Seongsanseong Fortress

Seongsanseong Fortress is located on Seongjaesan Mountain, 471m above sea level, in Eumnae-ri, Gimhwa-eup, Cheorwon County, at a point that commands and can defend the route running from the direction of Pyeonggang toward Cheorwon, Hwacheon and Hoeyang. It is recorded as Seongsanseong in the Sinjeung Dongguk yeoji seungnam, which states: "It is 4 ri north of the county seat. It is built of stone, with a circumference of 1,489 cheok and a height of 4 cheok." It is also said to have been called Gadeungsanseong since the Japanese colonial period. The fortress as a whole is higher in the north and lower in the south. The total length of the wall is 982m; its height is not uniform, but taking the surviving and buried portions into account, it is estimated to have been around 7m. Most of the wall has collapsed except for certain sections, but the south-western wall survives in fairly good condition; around the south-western gate site and the surrounding stretch in particular, a wall about 5m high and 50m long remains well preserved. The wall was built using dressed natural stones or stones quarried within the fortress, and stone quarried but left unused still lies scattered throughout the site. Traces of a hoenggul, a horizontal trench commonly found in medieval Japanese mountain fortresses, appear on the east and west walls. Traces of chiseong, bastions projecting outward, survive at two points, the eastern and western ends of the north wall. Gate sites remain at the south-western gate and the south gate, and three further locations presumed to be gate sites exist along the east and north walls. In the mainly northern and southern parts of the fortress interior, foundation stones and large quantities of varied roof-tile fragments are scattered, suggesting the presence of building sites. Other facilities found within the fortress include a well site, a seonghwangdang (Village Guardian Shrine) site and a quarry. Various artefacts have been recovered, including roof-tile fragments, celadon and white porcelain fragments, and earthenware and pottery fragments of several kinds. Considering its construction method and the artefacts recovered within it, this mountain fortress is presumed to have already existed by at least the Unified Silla period, and to have continued to be repaired and used through the Later Three Kingdoms period and the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties. It also shows traces of hoenggul, a Japanese-style fortress construction method, suggesting that it may have been a site where Japanese troops were stationed during the Japanese invasions of Korea. The fortress wall survives in relatively good condition and holds great academic value for the study of Korean mountain fortresses and fortification methods.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheorwon, Gangwon

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물