Hyangcheonsa Temple Nine-story Stone Pagoda

This pagoda stands in front of Nahanjeon Hall at Hyangcheonsa Temple, with a nine-storey body set upon a single-tier base. Pillar shapes are carved at the four corners and centre of the base, and at the corners of the body stones of the pagoda. The body stone of the second storey drops sharply in height compared with the first, and from the fourth storey upward the body stones are missing altogether, leaving only the roof stones stacked one upon another, so that much of the beauty the pagoda must once have had has been lost. The thin, broad roof stones each have four-tiered supports on their undersides, and their eaves curve gently upward at both ends to form an elegant line, though damage becomes increasingly noticeable towards the upper storeys. At the top, a finial in the shape of a flower bud rests on a square base stone. The temple is said to have been founded by the Baekje monk Uigak, who later travelled to Japan, in 652, the twelfth year of King Uija of Baekje, and this pagoda is presumed to have been built around the time of the temple's founding. Although it suffered considerable damage during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), it retains the elegance of a Baekje-style pagoda and provides valuable evidence of the temple's history.

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Where it is

Region

Yesan, Chungnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료