Yangseongsanseong Fortress, Cheongju

Yangseongsanseong Fortress, Cheongju, is a stone-built mountain fortress around Yangseongsan Mountain in Munui-myeon, Sangdang-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do. It follows a long, low ridge line within a saddle-shaped terrain enclosed by the surrounding peaks. The Sejong sillok jiriji (Geographical Appendix to the Annals of King Sejong) records: "Taesanseokseong Fortress lies four ri west of the county seat. It has a circumference of 772 bo, and the terrain is rugged. There is a well inside that never dries up, in winter or summer." The Sinjeung dongguk yeoji seungnam records: "Yangseongsanseong Fortress is built of stone, with a circumference of 3,754 cheok and a height of one jang. Inside is a round pond called Daeji, the Great Pond, with a circumference of 192 cheok 8 chi. Stone steps have been built up on all four sides. Its depth cannot be measured, and the water never dries up or overflows, in flood or drought." A surface survey carried out in 2001 found the total circumference of the fortress to be about 985 m along the top of the wall, and 1,020–1,030 m measured along its outer face. An inner ring road runs along the inside of the wall. The wall appears to have been built basically as a double-faced structure with inner and outer wall faces, and shows differing construction methods from section to section. A distinctive structure has also been identified, consisting of gicho-bochuk (a reinforced foundation built to strengthen the base of the stone wall) and gidan-bochuk (a reinforced platform base). Auxiliary features of the wall that have been identified include a curved bastion, gate sites, water outlets, and a blocking wall. There are thought to be two gate sites, an east gate and a south gate; the east gate site, at a point where the valley forms a narrow gorge, is presumed to have been a hyeonmun, a type of gate kept shut in normal times and, when needed, opened by lowering a ladder from outside to allow passage. Facilities inside the fortress include a round pond and building sites. The round pond, test-excavated in 2003, is estimated to have a circumference of about 60 m and a diameter of about 19 m, and was built with several outlets so that it could be used according to the water level. Artefacts found within the fortress include Silla earthenware fragments and pieces of hard-fired large jars from around the 9th century, showing that the site was occupied from the Silla period through the transition from Silla to Goryeo. Celadon wares ranging from the early to the late Goryeo period have also been collected, indicating that the fortress continued in use throughout the Goryeo period. The changing place names of this area show that it was called Ilmoseong and Ilmosan-gun in the Three Kingdoms period, was changed to Yeonsan-gun in the Unified Silla period, was known as Yeonsanjin in the Later Three Kingdoms period, and became Munui-hyeon in the early Goryeo period. By the early Joseon period it was recorded as Yangseong, within Munui-hyeon.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheongju, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물