Unveiling the Secrets of Daemosanseong Fortress: A Journey Through History
Hello everyone!
We are the Yangju City SNS Supporters.
Today, we're excited to introduce you to a very special place.
We visited a historical site that reaffirms Yangju's significance and importance in Korean history.
We explored the Daemosanseong Fortress excavation site and attended a briefing, witnessing the vibrant scene firsthand.
Shall we take a look together?
Yangju Daemosanseong Fortress 15th Excavation Site Open to the Public
-2025 Excavation Results Presentation and On-Site Commentary-
November 28, 2025 (Friday)
2:00 PM ~ 4:00 PM
This public viewing of the Daemosanseong Fortress excavation site offered a unique opportunity to witness firsthand, through the excavation, a historical site that truly reveals Yangju's status and role in the history of the ancient Korean Peninsula.
At the entrance of Daemosanseong Fortress, parking assistance was provided for the excavation site opening and briefing, and briefing materials were also prepared.
The event was attended not only by experts related to the excavation but also by advisory committee members and members of the general public interested in Daemosanseong Fortress.
Notably, the 15th excavation unearthed wooden tablets (mokgan), which are significant materials that could shed new light on the history of the Three Kingdoms, drawing keen attention from academia.
Signage from the entrance to the site ensured easy access.
The public viewing took place at the northwestern base of Daemosanseong Fortress.
I attended with a slightly excited heart, as I could directly observe the excavation site and listen to explanations from the staff.
Having personally visited Daemosanseong Fortress several times and maintained an interest in it, this public viewing and the explanation of the excavation results felt particularly meaningful.
To facilitate understanding of the excavation site, photographs were displayed, and excavated artifacts were exhibited, garnering enthusiastic attention.
After a detailed explanation by an official from the Giho Cultural Heritage Research Institute, which is in charge of the excavation, the site visit became more comprehensible and realistic.
Daemosanseong Fortress is located at 774 Bangseong-ri, Baeksok-eup, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, and is known to have been a mountain fortress utilized from the Three Kingdoms period to the early Goryeo Dynasty. Recently, significant artifacts have been unearthed that could redefine the history of the Three Kingdoms, attracting extraordinary attention from academia.
Daemosanseong Fortress faces Bulgoksan Mountain, Yangju's guardian mountain, and is also located along the Hanbuk Mountain Range.
This excavation site opening focused on the northwestern base of the fortress (the 15th excavation site), the northeastern protrusion, and the uppermost part of the fortress.
At the lowest part of the fortress, connected to the northwestern valley of Daemosan Mountain, wetland layers were identified in the Unified Silla period remains (8th century) excavated in 2023. Hydraulic facilities such as square wells, aqueducts, drainage channels, and water collection facilities were discovered there.
A large quantity of Baekje period (5th century) pottery, wooden tablets, divination bones, plant remains, and various other artifacts were unearthed.
The three newly excavated wooden tablets from the 15th excavation were discovered in the northwestern water collection facility within the fortress.
These wooden tablets, inscribed with Baekje characters from 1,500 years ago, are estimated to have been created around the 5th century and are considered to be among the oldest wooden tablets discovered in Korea.
Of particular note is a wooden tablet inscribed with the cyclical year 'Gimyo Year (己卯年).'
In conjunction with the Baekje pottery found alongside it, this tablet is believed to have been produced in 439 AD when Baekje occupied the Yangju area.
A researcher stated, "As a written record predating the wooden tablets unearthed from Mongchontoseong Fortress in the 6th century by over 100 years, it is highly likely to be the oldest existing Baekje written artifact."
The second wooden tablet features multiple characters inscribed below the character 'corpse (尸)' on both sides, along with the characters 'heaven (天)' and 'gold (金).'
This is similar to Chinese or Japanese amulets and is considered the oldest example of a 'curse amulet wooden tablet' with definite shamanistic characteristics in Korea.
The third wooden tablet contains the place name 'Geummulno (今勿奴),' which is recorded in the Geography section of the History of the Three Kingdoms as an old Goguryeo place name, similar to the area around present-day Jincheon in North Chungcheong Province.
The discovery of a wooden tablet inscribed with a Goguryeo place name alongside Baekje pottery suggests that the Yangju area was a fierce border region between Baekje and Goguryeo in the mid-5th century.
These are pottery artifacts from 5th century Baekje. A pot with a handle and decorative roof tiles that were placed on the eaves of buildings were discovered.
Along with the pottery, divination bones, used for fortune-telling, were also discovered, providing valuable clues that ritualistic practices were actually performed inside the fortress at the time.
Northwestern base of the fortress where the water collection facility is located.
This is also the location where the wooden tablets and other artifacts were discovered. Seeing the actual site while hearing the explanation made it even easier to understand.
The wooden tablets were found here, where the water collection facility was located. Also, a square well was identified.
Wetland layers were identified in the Unified Silla period remains (8th century) excavated in 2023, and hydraulic facilities such as square wells, aqueducts, drainage channels, and water collection facilities were discovered there.
Through the confirmation of artifacts and layers, it was possible to confirm that this place is a historical site of Baekje, Goguryeo, and Unified Silla.
Moving towards the northeastern protrusion, the next excavation site.
Seeing the many people who came to the excavation site opening, I was able to reaffirm the keen interest in Daemosanseong Fortress.
The northeastern north gate, where the shape of the fortress and the stone structure are relatively well preserved.
It was possible to confirm that the outside was built with well-trimmed stones, while the inside of the fortress wall was built using natural stones.
Listening to the explanation of the researcher, I was able to see the remains and the artifacts remaining in the remains with my own eyes.
It was touching to see the roof tiles and pieces of pottery that were actually used.
Confirming through the artifacts of the time that this place where I am standing was a space where someone lived hundreds of years ago was a special experience.
We moved to the uppermost part of the fortress, the next location.
Although nothing has been clearly revealed or proven yet, the process of proving what the artifacts discovered through excavation are telling us seems thrilling.
In the uppermost part of the fortress, two foundation building sites were identified, and a circular facility with crescent-shaped talc paved inside Building Site No. 1 is presumed to have been a ritual facility.
Artifacts from the late Silla period to the early Goryeo period were also discovered here.
The discovery of a ritual facility here, facing Bulgoksan Mountain, Yangju's guardian mountain, seems very meaningful and important.
In addition, I believe that the status and role of Bulgoksan Mountain in Yangju will be re-examined.
Roof tiles arranged on one side of the excavation site.
These roof tiles tell us that there was a building here.
In this way, even from one small thing at the excavation site, it is possible to infer historical facts, and it is possible to feel special emotions by facing the traces of those who lived in the old days.
I am looking forward to the story that Daemosanseong Fortress will tell in future excavations.
Source :https://blog.naver.com/yangju619/224093024347
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