Achasanseong Fortress is an earthen mountain fortress of the Korean

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period. Originally built by

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

, it was occupied in turn by each of the Three Kingdoms. It stands on Achasan Mountain, in

Gwangjin-gu Gwangjin District (Gwangjin-gu) is one of the 25 wards (''gu'') of Seoul, South Korea. It is located on the north bank of the Han River, to the eastern end of Seoul. It was created from neighboring Seongdong District in 1995. Gwangjin District ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, at an altitude of 200 meters above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

. It has a

perimeter A perimeter is a closed path that encompasses, surrounds, or outlines either a two dimensional shape or a one-dimensional length. The perimeter of a circle or an ellipse is called its circumference. Calculating the perimeter has several pr ...

of roughly 1 kilometer and an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...

of about 3375 m². The first mention of this fortress in historical records comes from the ''

Samguk Sagi ''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...

s statement that

King Chaekgye of Baekje Chaekgye of Baekje (died 298, r. 286–298) was the ninth king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Background He was the eldest son of King Goi. He became king upon Goi's death in 286 which was the 53rd year of his reign. The ''Samgu ...

ordered it to be fortified against an expected

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled mos ...

invasion. At that time, Achasanseong Fortress would have played a key role in the defense of the Baekje capital

Hanseong Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

from the north. In 475, Goguryeo overran this and the other defenses of Baekje, and

King Gaero of Baekje Gaero of Baekje (?–475, 455–475) was the 21st king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the eldest son of the 20th king Biyu. He died in battle as Baekje's capital in the present-day Seoul region fell to the northe ...

was brought to Acha and executed. The fortress and the rest of the Han River valley were conquered by

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms ...

in 553. The Goguryeo general Ondal later died here while trying to reclaim the fortress. Achasanseong Fortress was designated as a historic landmark in 1973, and has since become a common local tourist destination.

External links

Tourist information from the Gwangjin-gu district government
Gwangjin District Archaeological sites in South Korea Castles in South Korea {{Asia-archaeology-stub

See also

External links