Current Status and Characteristics of Mountainous Fortresses for Entry into the Gangwon Region

‘Mountain’ means ‘high, rugged mountains.’ This mountainous terrain is one of the geographical features of the Gangwon region, and fortresses are located here and there in the mountains. In this paper, I would like to summarize the contents of fortresses in mountainous areas for entry among the mountain fortress data accumulated to date in the Gangwon region and briefly look at their characteristics. The fortress to be discussed in this paper will be examined with a focus on ruins for which archaeological investigation has been conducted at least once. The ruins are seven fortresses, including Gwongeumsanseong in Sokcho, Hangyesanseong in Inje, Dootasanseong in Donghae, Samaksanseong in Chuncheon, Yeongwonsanseong in Wonju, and JeongyangsanseongㆍTaehwasanseong in Yeongwol. The common characteristics of these fortresses are that they built walls using the rugged natural terrain (mountains) and used natural cliffs as walls to defend against invasion from the outside. The fortress wall surrounds the valley, making it easy to secure a water source, and is built in layers. Since the natural surface was used, the planar shape of the fortresses is not constant (irregular). In addition, the area of the mountain fortress is wide to maximize the living space inside, creating conditions for long-term staging. In addition, most of the mountain fortresses have historical facts related to the Khitan, Mongolia, etc., so they have something in common that shows national patriotism. Most of the artifacts excavated through archaeological investigations also correspond to this period. There is a study that shows that there is a lack of planning in the construction of mountain fortresses for entry in the Gangwon region. However, looking at the common characteristics of the fortresses mentioned above, it appears that there was sufficient planning. In addition, due to the rugged terrain, it is believed that it was only managed by the town police station in normal times, but when war broke out, it took on that role. From literature and archaeological investigations, it is believed that most mountain fortresses in the Gangwon region were built for the purpose of staging a sit-in. It can be said that the fortresses were built during the Goryeo Dynasty and operated until the Joseon Dynasty. However, the outer castle of Jeongyangsanseong in Yeongwol is different in that it was built with walls in addition to the inner wall built during the Three Kingdoms period and was operated until the Joseon Dynasty, but the characteristics of castles in other mountainous terrains in the Gangwon region are similar. For mountain fortresses in Korea, the English expressions “castle” and “fortress” are often used. In preparing this article, I believe that the large fortress wall located on the rugged mountainous terrain during the Goryeo Dynasty also had the meaning of “a shelter”.