Busosanseong Fortress
부소산성
A mountain fortress wrapping Busosan on the south bank of the Baengma River. It guarded the palace after the court moved to Sabi and defended the capital until Baekje fell. Nakhwaam cliff and Goransa temple stand inside it.
Language
Place information
- Korean name
- 부소산성
- Address
- 31 Buso-ro, Buyeo-eup, Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do
History
around 500
A ridge-top fortress already there
A tewoe-type fortress ringing the summit is thought to have existed by about 500, the twenty-second year of King Dongseong.
538
The move to Sabi, and a double wall
When the capital moved from Ungjin to Sabi in 538, a double wall is thought to have been raised to protect the palace.
around 605
Completed in its present form
It is thought to have reached its present form around 605, the sixth year of King Mu, which makes it an important record of how Baekje fortification developed.
in the Samguk Sagi
Sabiseong, Soburiseong
The Baekje annals of the Samguk Sagi record it as Sabiseong and Soburiseong; the name Busosanseong comes from the hill it sits on.
21 January 1963
Designated a Historic Site
Designated as a Historic Site covering 1,022,558 square metres.
2015
Inscribed as World Heritage
Inscribed together with the Gwanbuk-ri site as one of the eight components of the Baekje Historic Areas.
What to see
Nakhwaam
A rock cliff on the north side of the fortress, looking down on the Baengma River, with the Baekhwajeong pavilion standing on top of it.
What is inside the walls
Granary and Baekje building sites remain, along with Yeongillu, Sabiru, Goransa and Nakhwaam. It is read as a fortress in emergencies and, in ordinary times, a place where the king and nobles enjoyed the river and the hill.
Nakhwaam selected
Nearby
Jeongnimsa Temple Site
The site of the principal temple of Sabi-period Baekje. The temple is gone; a five-storey stone pagoda from Baekje and a seated stone Buddha from Goryeo remain, and the north-south axis running from the middle gate past the pagoda and hall to the lecture hall is still legible across the open ground.
Buyeo National Museum
The national museum for the finds of Sabi-period Baekje, which gives the gilt-bronze incense burner a hall of its own.
Naseong City Wall
An 8 km wall raised to protect the Sabi capital. Taking Busosanseong as its centre, it runs east and west along the natural terrain around the outside of the Buyeo townscape. It was built of earth, and only slight traces of it remain today.
Buyeo Royal Tombs
Seven Baekje tombs on the south slope of Neungsan, set in two rows front and back. The ground has long been known as royal tombs, and finds from the temple site west of them reconfirmed it as a royal burial area. UNESCO lists it as the royal tombs in Neungsan-ri; the name the Korea Heritage Service uses today is Buyeo Royal Tombs.
Stories about this place
- Busosanseong: One Fortress That Was Also a Pleasure Ground and a Last Line
Read Busosanseong as a military site and you lose half of it. Inside the walls are granary foundations — and pavilions, a temple and a cliff. In ordinary times the king and his nobles looked down on the river from here; in an emergency this was the last place Sabi had.
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