Achasanseong Fortress, located at Gwangjin-gu in Seoul, is thought of as Adanseong of Baekje. Based on Samguksagi, Achasanseong Fortress appears to have been built in 286. In 396 this fortress was attacked by Koguryo. Written evidence says that King G...
Achasanseong Fortress, located at Gwangjin-gu in Seoul, is thought of as Adanseong of Baekje. Based on Samguksagi, Achasanseong Fortress appears to have been built in 286. In 396 this fortress was attacked by Koguryo. Written evidence says that King Gaero of Baekje was killed at Adanseong by the Koguryo army in 475 when Hanseong was attacked by Koguryo. Archaeological surveys of Achasanseong Fortress have been conducted from 1994 until 1999 over several times. The surveys reveal that Achasanseong Fortress is a mountain fortress encircling a valley. The fortress is 1038.58 meters around, and has a plan shape of an irregular hexagon. Its external and internal walls were both built with trimmed stones. The original height of the walls appears to have been 7-8 meters. Another wall was constructed to reinforce the lower part of the external wall. This construction method is usually observed in Silla fortresses dated later than the late fifth century. The gates were made on the southern and eastern parts of the fortress, with the eastern gate being a suspensible gate. Inside the fortress, a well, reservoir facilities, many building foundations, and so on were discovered. The finds suggest that the walls were built in the early seventh century and used until the mid ninth century. Roofing tiles with letters written on them imply the possibility that Achasanseong Fortress was used as Bukhansanseong Fortress of Silla after the early seventh century. Archaeological surveys of Achasanseong Fortress have yielded important information about some aspects of Achasanseong Fortress. However, previous surveys on the fortress were conducted to a limited extent in the forms of a surface survey or a trial digging, only providing us with partial data of the fortress. In particular, there is little evidence on when the fortress was first built, how it was used as Adanseong of Baekje, and what the fortress was like when Hanseong was attacked and after then. These remain to be revealed through future surveys.