Yesan Gayasa Temple Site

The Gayasa temple site lies in a broad valley formed below the eastern side of Seongmunbong Peak on Gayasan Mountain, on the boundary between Yesan-gun and Seosan-si. The area is called Gayadong, and is said to have once held ninety-nine hermitages; at the spot traditionally regarded as the centre of the temple site now stands the tomb of Namyeongun, father of Heungseon Daewongun Yi Ha-eung. Most of the area has since been reclaimed as paddy and dry fields, so that any structural remains that might reveal the layout of the temple compound appear to have already been destroyed. Judging, however, from the roof-tile fragments, stonework and pottery sherds scattered across the paddies and fields of the Gayadong valley, it is thought that a temple of enormous scale once stood across this wide valley. The temple was burned down by Heungseon Daewongun when he carried out myeollye, the ritual relocation of a grave, to install Namyeongun's tomb, and he also tore down the gold pagoda that the Goryeo-period monk Naong had built behind the temple, reducing it to an abandoned site. It is said that the gold pagoda that had stood there was then buried within Namyeongun's tomb. In its present state the layout of the temple compound cannot be confirmed, but around Namyeongun's tomb, presumed to have been the temple's centre, roof-tile fragments and large stones that appear to be foundation stones lie scattered about.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yesan, Chungnam

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물