Back to 1,500 years ago

A Week in Danyang (4)

Danyang Jeokseong Monument

Whether it was middle school or high school. He learned about the Danyang Jeokseong monument during national history class. It was roughly something like this. The Han River basin was the site of competition between three countries during the Three Kingdoms period. Who would occupy the Han River basin, which had secured water transportation and fertile soil for farming, was a matter of utmost concern, and each was able to occupy the Han River basin in its prime. King Geunchogo of Baekje in the 4th century, King Jangsu of Goguryeo in the 5th century, and King Jinheung of Silla in the 6th century were each representative. In the case of Silla, which eventually unified the three kingdoms, signs of its advance into the Han River basin can be seen through the Danyang Jeokseong Monument and the Bukhansan Mountain King Jinheung Monument. This is the content I remember.

The path to finding the Danyang Monument was not easy. When I turned on the navigation and left downtown Danyang, it seemed like all I had to do was pass Danyang Station, follow the riverside, and go near <Danyang Palgyeong Rest Area>, but the directions made it seem like there were many turns at the end. The road got narrower and narrower, so I entered a village -- it turned out to be Danseong-myeon -- and as I went up the mountain road that was barely accessible, there was a road leading up to Danyang Jeokseongbi next to the parking lot that the employees of the Danyang Eight Scenic Rest Areas on the Jungang Expressway use when commuting to and from work.

It is of course not a tourist attraction, but as you go up thinking that the access road may not have been maintained like this, the structure with Dancheong seems to say, “This is a historical relic.” Still, it is National Treasure No. 198, and I wondered if it was managed like this, but on the other hand, I thought, “Who would come this far?” Namu Wiki also says that the quickest way to get there is to walk from the upward line of Danyang Palgyeong Rest Area.

What is Danyang Monument?

I vaguely thought that the Danyang Jeokseong Monument was a monument commemorating the construction of a castle, but the Chinese characters were different. Redseong Monument was built according to Jeokseong, the place name at the time. The Danyang Jeokseong Monument, located within Jeokseongsanseong Fortress at the top of the current Seongjaesan Mountain, mentions territorial expansion and not only talks about those who made contributions, but also mentions what kind of rewards they can receive if they make contributions in the future. When comparing the names of the people mentioned here with the names of Silla's main subjects recorded in <History of the Three Kingdoms>, it is estimated that it was created around 550 and is said to have been intended to appease the people of Danyang, which was Goguryeo territory at the time. This may be the reason why Ondalsanseong Fortress is believed to have been the site of General Ondal's final battle to recover Goguryeo's territory. However, the construction method of Ondalsanseong Fortress is so similar to that of Jeokseongsanseong Fortress that it is difficult to say that it was Goguryeo territory that 'must be restored'. do.

King Jinheung, who greatly expanded his territory, built four pure monuments. The pure monuments in Bukhansan Mountain, Changnyeong, Hwangchoryeong, and Maunryeong are monuments that commemorate King Jinheung's personal visit to the site as they have the meaning of "the king wandered around the country and inspected them," but the Jeokseongmonu in Danyang is a monument that was created by King Jinheung's subjects. It is far from a pure memorial as it only commemorates the attack by General Isabu and his subordinates on Jeokseong and rewarded the Yaicha, the indigenous people of Jeokseong at the time.

A lost village

On the way back, I saw Danseong Station at the signpost and turned around. As expected, traces of submersion remained. It is said that the place that was Danyang Station before being submerged into Chungju Lake was renamed Danseong Station after it was submerged. The downtown of Danyang-eup that we see today is a new city created 30-40 years ago, but the area around Danseong Station was the downtown of the past. The reason why the Danyang we see today feels well-organized is because of its history of submergence. The current state of Danyang-eup, which has elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools on one side of an important road, and major public facilities such as a court, county office, terminal, and hospital on the other side, can be understood only when viewed together with the state of Danseong Station, which is closed. There will be.

There was a pagoda on the way down after seeing the Jeokseong Monument, so I went there. The area where the Jeokseong Monument is located is on high ground, so you can see all the surrounding movements even 1,500 years ago, so there can be various monuments for feng shui reasons, but there were too many monuments. When I got closer and read it, I realized that these were gravestones that had been moved from a submerged village, and the building next to it was the Submerged Migration Memorial Hall, with no one there. It was probably built in a place overlooking the submerged village. In the eyes of a stranger 40 years later, there is only a beautiful river, but in the eyes of the residents who had to leave the village (where they were probably born), they can still see the village and the fields.

#Danyang travel #Life in Danyang for a week #Danyang diary #Danyang aptitude test #Danseong station