Confirmation of Pungnap Toseong West City Wall at Returned Site of Sampyo Industrial Pungnap Factory

Traces of the western wall of Pungnap Fortress were confirmed during a trial excavation on a portion of the returned land of Sampyo Industrial Pungnap Factory in Songpa-gu, Seoul.

In this investigation conducted by the Cultural Heritage Administration under the "Basic Plan for the Preservation, Management, and Utilization of Pungnap Fortress," it was confirmed that the structure, direction, construction method, and remaining conditions of the fortress wall matched the results of previous excavation surveys of the western wall restoration area of Pungnap Fortress. Notably, it was the first time to verify that the direction of the western wall extends from the "southern wall - western wall restoration area excavation site (former Sampyo office site) - Sampyo Industrial Pungnap Factory."

The construction method involved stacking the central earthen mound (1st mound), which serves as the core framework, and then repeatedly adding additional mounds (2nd and 3rd mounds) on top. The term "mound" refers to the earthen mass forming the body of Pungnap Fortress. The use of the rammed earth technique, which involves constructing a rectangular frame called a pan-chuk structure and alternately layering and compacting earth of a certain thickness inside it, was also confirmed. Additionally, the innermost part of the fortress wall was finished with river stones (naturally smoothed stones from riverbanks) and broken stones (inner wall finishing stone masonry), consistent with the currently ongoing investigation of the western wall.

This investigation is a preliminary trial excavation in preparation for the future return of the entire Sampyo Industrial Pungnap Factory site. Although it is not possible to fully understand the characteristics of the entire site, based on the trial excavation results, the preservation state is expected to be better than that of the currently excavated western wall restoration area of Pungnap Fortress. Furthermore, if a detailed excavation of the entire site proceeds in the future, meaningful outcomes related to the utilization of the fortress walls’ interior and exterior surfaces, including road remains, are also anticipated.

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