Dogyongsanseong Fortress

This mountain fortress stands atop Mount Dogyongsan (955 m above sea level) in Gacheon-myeon, Seongju-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, and has a circumference of 7.7 km. With abundant water and ample usable space inside its walls, it appears to have been built in preparation for prolonged warfare. A fortress of this kind, enclosing a mountain peak together with its valley, is known as a pogok-sik (valley-enclosing) fortress, and this is the largest such fortress in the Yeongnam region. The exact date of construction is unknown, but it is presumed to have been built during the Gaya period, and it is said to have been discovered by people taking refuge during the Japanese invasions of 1592-1598 (the Imjin War). It is also the only fortress in the region that suffered no damage from that war. In the first year of King Sukjong's reign (1675), seven gun emplacements were rebuilt to the east, west, south and north, along with an arched east gate, a water gate and a small south gate, and eastern and western military granaries were set up to store provisions for the surrounding area. During the Japanese colonial period an armoury was discovered here, yielding iron axes, iron spears, iron arrows and armour; today only part of the once-imposing walls and the arched east gate remain.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물