Taesong Fortress

{{Short description|Former structure in Pyongyang, North Korea}}

{{Infobox Korean name

| hangul = 대성산성

| hanja = 大城山城

| rr = Daeseongsanseong

| mr = Taesŏngsansŏng

| context = north

| image =

| caption =

}}

{{Infobox castle

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|frame-align=center

|frame-width=292

|frame-height=181

|frame-latitude=39.0798

|frame-longitude=125.8369

|zoom=10

|id=Q6833652

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|stroke-colour=#FF0000

|stroke-width=4

|text=Taesong Fortress

|title=Taesong Fortress

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}}

The Taesong Fortress ({{Korean|hangul=대성산성}}) was a city fortress and the capital of Koguryo, until 668.{{cite tech report|first=Korean Cultural Relics Publishing House|last=Anonymous|title=Historical Relics in Pyongyang|number=1424|institution=UNESCO/Korean Cultural Relics Publishing House|url=https://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=326&l=en&id=1424&&action=doc|year=May 25, 2000}} It lies between the rivers Taedong and Pothong. Parts of the city walls, its gates (Taedong Gate, Pothong Gate) and pavilions (Ulmil Pavilion and Ryongwang Pavilion) still remain in the city of Pyongyang, North Korea. The fortress has been dated to the 3rd-5th centuries, during the Koguryo period.{{cite web |url=http://go.utlib.ca/cat/6807479 |title=[Mt. Taesong Fort] [graphic]. |author= |date=2002 |website=University of Toronto Libraries |access-date=November 22, 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

The walls of the fortress have a circumference of 7,218m.{{cite web |url=http://www.chinakoreabank.com/english/today/l1.htm |title=Historical Remains and Relics |author= |date=2003 |website=Brilliance Bank|publisher=chinakoreabank.com |access-date=September 28, 2014}}{{Citation |last=차 |first=용걸 |title=대성산성 (大城山城) Daeseongsanseong |encyclopedia=한국민족문화대백과사전 [Encyclopedia of Korean Culture] |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0014505 |access-date=2024-04-26 |publisher=Academy of Korean Studies |language=ko}} (Another source gives the walls as being 7,076 metres round with total length of its walls being 9,284 metres) Built at the foot of Mount Taesong, the fortress provided protection for the capital, and held wells, storehouses and armories behind its walls.{{cite book |last=Nelson |first=Sarah M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sANORB_MSRUC&q=Taesongsan+fortress&pg=PA216 |title=The Archaeology of Korea |date=May 13, 1993 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0521407834 |page=307 |access-date=September 28, 2014}} It remains one of the largest stone fortifications found in Korea in both its circumference and the area enclosed.{{cite web |url=https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/10445/14/EOKpp1021-1119.pdf|title=P'yongyang|author= |website=ANU (Australian National University)|publisher=ANU |access-date=September 28, 2014}}

It is national treasure No. 8 of the DPRK.Imported from kowiki