Gimpo Suansanseong Fortress

Suansanseong Fortress stands on Suansan Mountain, 147m above sea level, in Daegot-myeon, Gimpo. This is the north-western part of Gimpo, and from the summit Incheon, Ganghwa and Seoul can be seen over a wide area. The fortress is oval in plan, elongated north to south. The surviving wall is 685m in circumference but has suffered heavy damage from the installation of military facilities. It is built of stone, with squared or rectangular blocks laid in even courses to a precise finish. A cross-section exposed where the wall was cut through by road construction shows that the inner face, outer face and core were all built of stone, a technique known as pyeonchuk gongbeop. Judging from the construction method and the artefacts excavated within the fortress, Suansanseong appears to have been built by Silla in the late 6th century. According to the geography section of the Samguk sagi, this area was Goguryeo's Suihol. It continued to be called Suihol-hyeon after Silla took possession of it, until it was renamed Suseong-hyeon under King Gyeongdeok, and was later changed to Suan-hyeon under Goryeo. This suggests that Suansanseong may have been built as the seat fortress of Silla's Suihol-hyeon, and that its original name, 'Suihol-seong,' was later changed to 'Suseong.' At the summit of Suansanseong a Joseon-period beacon station, Suansan Bongsu, survives. It relayed signals received from Daemosanseong Fortress in Ganghwa onward to Baekseoksan Mountain in Gimpo. The site is mostly damaged, and only one of its original five beacon mounds remains.

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Where it is

Region

Gimpo, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물