Gurasanseong Fortress

Gurasanseong Fortress is a valley encircling type stone-rampart fortress located in 497m tall Gurasan Mountain, which straddles Miwon-myeon and Bukil-myeon. The fortress is listed in all geographic books of the Joseon Dynasty.

Historical records say that Gurasansoeng Fortress is 1.6km east of Cheongju and has a circumference of 856m. Two wells are located inside the fortress. Gurasan Mountain was also called Goryeosan Mountain, Guryeosan Mountain, Gungyesan Mountain, and Gunyeosan Mountain. These days, it is usually called Guyeosan Mountain.

It is 856m around the fortress and it looks like a square with unequal sides. The fortress is a straw basket-shaped place with a ridgeline slides toward the southern valley. The foundation has two layers. The stone rampart stands on the foundation. But most of it has collapsed.

Some of the wall of the fortress still remains in the southern part of the northwestern end of the ridgeline on Itijae. This indicates that it was inner and outer stacking fortress which was 7m high, 8m wide and 6.3m thick. The fortress has the following facilities – a gate by the southern water gate, a small northern gate, and a small western gate. It is assumed that an observation tower topped the mountain but it is now gone. Curved ramparts were built on northern, southern, and western corners where the wall was linked to the ridgeline.

The southern part within the fortress had Guryeosa Temple built on the site of an old temple. In 1979, the temple was moved to Jongam-ri. Pieces of Silla’s earthenware and roofing tiles, and sometimes those of Baekje and early Goryeo were found around the site. It seems that Gurasanseong Fortress was built by Silla as an advanced base against Baekje or Goguryeo. This assumption is backed by its terrain and geographical features, the positions of its gate, watchtower and water gates, and relics as well as Chukseongsinhwa, a myth involving one son and nine daughters about the construction of the fortress. It is also assumed that the fortress was like an arena of competition among the three kingdoms.

In addition, the place became a strategic site with soldiers stationed in the Later Three Kingdoms period and the soldiers fought a battle with Gyeon Hwon from Nangbiseong Fortress. It is assumed that the fortress continued to play its role as a fortress even in the Goryeo Dynasty.

Chungju IC - Sunhwan-ro (7.7km) – Chungcheong-daero (6.1km) – Chojeongyaksu-ro (5.4km) - Miwonchojeong-ro (6.0km) → Arrival