SAMNYEONSANSEONG (삼년산성)
Constructed by the Kingdom of Silla beginning in 470 AD, it’s name, translated as “Three Year Mountain Fortress” is a reference to how long it took to build the structure. Located in Chuncheon Province near the town of Boeun, this is one of the most incredible castles I’ve visited in Korea. The method of construction, so late in the Korean Three Kingdoms Period, is clearly different than the other fortresses I’ve seen, most of which were much older and built by the Kingdom of Baekje. Yet the thick, stone walls of Samnyeonsanseong are colossal, and nothing short of stunning from a visual perspective. The castle was built with offense in mind and was a jumping off point from which Silla seized the Han River Valley in 550. It’s strength as a defensive bastion was proven when Wanggeon, first king of Goryeo, failed to take the castle in 918 on his march to establish that Kingdom.
From the valley floor, there’s no real sense of uniqueness, though the stonework is certainly striking from a distance. In fact, during the drive up one is tempted to be let down due to the relatively small size of the fortification, a mere 1,800 meters in circumference.
Yet as you make the short climb up to the West Gate, you quickly gain an appreciation for the sheer size of these walls. And not just the height—well over 15 meters—but also the width of the walls, a sense of which can be gained here.
By the time we climbed a bit toward the North Gate, I was already in awe of what had been built here. And to be honest, I’ve never seen its like in Korea!
The rounded turrets—there once were a total of seven—were placed to provide additional protection at the castle’s most vulnerable points. Two of these turrets remain intact, recovered really, as the east wall facing the valley and main thoroughfare below were clearly the first priority. That said, the contrast at Samnyeonsanseong between reconstructed and ruined wall sections are instructive and add a visual yardstick to help imagine the ruined sections.
The walk up in either direction from the West Gate is fairly steep, and the heavy brush swallows up much of the wall going up the north side.
Hiking toward the Northern Gate, the walls in their ruined state start to emerge once again from the heavy foliage. 1,500 years of weather, wars, and gravity certainly takes its toll!
Yet that was nothing compared to the state of the northeastern wall! These walls at this point are about 20 meters high, and the collapse along the outer face was quite impressive to behold.
This is the collapsed Northern Gate, taken from the stone platform just outside the fortress, looking in.
Picture taken straight up at the towering wall above us. The other side of this wall was the collapsed portion in the previous picture.
The Eastern Gate, leading down to another valley. The thickness of the stone walls are quite unique, and it was said that construction required 10 million stones…which to me seemed like a gross underestimate!
“Imposing” is not a strong enough word to describe the outer wall at the Eastern Gate. Aside from the water drainage feature near the center of the picture…I’ve just never seen castle construction like this in Korea!
From the heights just above the Eastern Gate looking west across the castle grounds, you can see just how small this fortress is. There was once a pond within which captured runoff rain water and served as a water source. As well, you can just make out a subtle plateauing of the landscape within the walls, which would have facilitated the construction of necessary support structures.
Ruined section of the southeastern wall.
By this point it was beginning to dawn on me that the walls at Samnyeonsanseong were built of solid stone. There was no evidence in any of the ruins of a fill layer characteristic of castle construction at the time. Also different from the many Baekje fortresses we’ve visited this year, this one was clearly built from the very beginning with stone, and wasn’t another rammed earth and timber fortification simply clad in stone later on.
The turn at the South Gate leads directly downhill to a beautiful view of the West Gate below. Highlighting once again the “good side” of this absolute beauty!