Yangpyeong Gunham King Fortress Site

This mountain fortress in Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, was built by enclosing the ridgelines running west and south from an 855 m peak on the Yongmunsan Mountain range and from Yeoubong Peak (865 m), together with a large valley extending to the north; it is also known as Hamgongseong, Yanggeunseong, or Hamssi-daewangseong (Fortress of the Great King of the Ham clan). Below the fortress is a large rock cave called Seonggonghyeol, said to be the birthplace of King Ham Ju-ak during the proto-Three Kingdoms period; according to tradition, the fortress was built to protect this cave, and the surrounding area was conquered from here. Old records state that during the fourth Mongol invasion of the Goryeo period, people took refuge here when Mongol forces attacked. The fortress wall, built of natural stone, is said to have originally measured 29,058 cheok (about 8,805 m) in length, but only about 700 m now remains; the walls stand around 1.6 m high, and most sections have collapsed or been buried under soil. An academic survey conducted by Suwon University Museum in 1999 identified within the fortress one gate site, one chiseong (a projecting bastion), three presumed building sites, two command-post sites, a well site, and two water-outlet sites; scattered cornerstones and roof-tile fragments were found at a building site in the north-east, and roof tiles and porcelain fragments dating from the Goryeo to Joseon periods were identified within the fortress. Findings to date indicate that Hamwangseong Fortress was, like Bogasanseong Fortress in Pocheon, Gwongeumseong Fortress in Yangyang, Boryeonsanseong Fortress in Chungju, and Dutasanseong Fortress in Donghae, a refuge fortress built during the late Goryeo period's Mongol invasions, making use of rugged terrain.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물