Chamseongdan Altar Rock-carved Jungsu Stele, Ganghwa

This stele records the restoration of Chamseongdan Altar (Incheon Metropolitan City Historic Site No. 136); the inscription was carved onto the smoothed-off upper surface of a steep rock. Chamseongdan Altar, located at the summit of Manisan Mountain, is a place where rites were performed to Heaven. During the reign of King Sukjong of Joseon, Choe Seok-hang, who was serving as Governor of Ganghwa, climbed Manisan Mountain while inspecting his jurisdiction and discovered that the altar had collapsed. He ordered Sinmuk, the monk who was then the head monk of Jeondeungsa Temple, to rebuild it anew. Choe Seok-hang wrote: "Chamseongdan is the place where Dangun piled up stones to build an altar and performed rites to Heaven; it is a place that descendants will look up to and revere for thousands of years to come, so how could one not repair it and make it whole?" The stele was erected in the fifth month of the 43rd year of King Sukjong's reign (1717), and its inscription also records the story behind the name "Chamseongdan" and the intentions of earlier generations regarding the altar. Reference: Ganghwa Geumseong Munjip (Ganghwa County Ganghwa Cultural Centre, 2006).

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Where it is

Region

Ganghwa, Incheon

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료