Archaeological Site in Wanggung-ri

익산 왕궁리 유적

A site on the Iksan plain spanning the Baekje and Unified Silla periods. Several accounts have been handed down about it — a Mahan capital, King Mu of Baekje moving or duplicating his capital here, Anseung's Bodeokguk, Gyeon Hwon's Later Baekje capital — and excavation reads it as built across at least three periods. UNESCO lists it among the components related to the secondary Sabi capital.

Language

Place information

Korean name: 익산 왕궁리 유적
Address: San 80-1 and others, Wanggung-myeon, and 1109-8 and others, Donggodo-ri, Geumma-myeon, Iksan-si, Jeonbuk State

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History

what has been handed down
Four accounts of one place
Accounts handed down about the site read it as a Mahan capital, as King Mu of Baekje moving his capital here or keeping a second one, as Anseung's Bodeokguk, and as the capital of Gyeon Hwon's Later Baekje.
excavation
At least three periods
Excavation reads the site as having been formed across at least three periods, from late Baekje to late Unified Silla.
the Unified Silla period
Tile kilns east of the pagoda
Two tile kilns thought to be of the Unified Silla period were found 30 metres east of the stone pagoda.
17 September 1998
Designated a Historic Site
Designated as a Historic Site covering 929,791 square metres.
28 July 2011
The name changes
The designation was renamed from Wanggung-ri Site to Archaeological Site in Wanggung-ri, Iksan by notice.
2015
Inscribed as World Heritage
Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the eight sites making up the Baekje Historic Areas.

Korea Heritage Portal — Historic Site: Archaeological Site in Wanggung-ri, Iksan (designated 17 September 1998, 929,791 m2, San 80-1 Wanggung-myeon and 1109-8 Donggodo-ri, Geumma-myeon; Baekje to Unified Silla; renamed from Wanggung-ri Site by notice of 28 July 2011) · Sep 5, 2026

What to see

The five-storey stone pagoda

The stone pagoda standing within the site. The Korea Heritage Service's own record describes it as a relic of a temple built in the Goryeo period.

Nearby

The west stone pagoda at the Mireuksa site at sunset: six tiers of stone roofs narrowing over a broad platform, a dark passage opening at the centre of the first storey, and the sun low on the right across the dry ground of the temple site

Mireuksa Temple Site

The site of a temple founded under King Mu of Baekje. It has a plan found nowhere else: stone pagodas east and west with a wooden one between them, each with its own main hall behind it. The western stone pagoda is the oldest surviving stone pagoda in Korea.