Gayasan Mountain Fortress

Gayasan Mountain Fortress lies to the southeast of Chilbulbong Peak (1,433m above sea level), the summit of Gayasan Mountain, and is a pogok-sik fortress, a type built to enclose a valley within its walls, following the ridgelines of Sangadeom and Jaegolsan Mountain on either side of Yonggigol Valley. The exact date of its first construction is uncertain, but it is recorded in documents such as the Sejong sillok jiriji (Geographical Appendix to the Annals of King Sejong) and the Sinjeung dongguk yeoji seungnam (Newly Augmented Dongguk yeoji seungnam). The fortress is presumed to have served as a detached palace of Daegaya. During the Japanese invasions of Korea, the military inspector-general Yi Won-ik, acting on royal orders, had the monk-general Sinyeol rebuild it, and it is said to have served as a refuge for local people during the fighting. After Dogyongsanseong Fortress was built nearby during the reign of King Sukjong of Joseon, Gayasan Mountain Fortress lost its function and fell into disrepair. The walls originally ran to a total length of about 7.2km, but most have collapsed; where sections survive, they stand at an average height of around 1.5m. The area enclosed within the fortress is about 2.1km². A surface survey carried out in 2000 confirmed that the fortress had gates on its east, west, south and north sides, together with a hidden gate, projecting bastions, a watchtower, a command post, seven springs and one well; the sites of buildings such as Yonggisa Temple Site, Baegunam Hermitage Site and Illyoam Hermitage Site also survive within the walls.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물