Busan Gijang-gun, 'Chi' and Others Discovered in Moat of East Wall Section of Gijang Eupseong

Busan’s Gijang-gun announced that during the cultural heritage excavation on the south side of the east wall within the Gijang Eupseong restoration project site, they confirmed the presence of the ‘chi,’ a key facility of the fortress wall.

Gijang Eupseong is a city-designated cultural asset of Gijang-gun, constructed in 1425. Since 1999, Gijang-gun and Busan City have invested approximately 26.4 billion KRW in cultural heritage restoration and maintenance projects, having acquired about 90% of the total project site, marking a stage where the achievements of the project are becoming visible.

Gijang-gun has focused administrative efforts on transforming Gijang Eupseong into a historical park and securing its designation as a national historic site. In particular, to complement the unique characteristics and academic research results of Gijang Eupseong, continuous land acquisition within the protected area and excavation surveys have been conducted.

Currently, Gijang Eupseong is under review by the Cultural Heritage Administration (Historic Site Subcommittee) for designation as a national historic site.

The Ulsan Cultural Heritage Institute conducted a trial excavation from early April this year on the purchased land within the southeastern protected area of Gijang Eupseong to verify the presence of relics. The trial excavation confirmed that the fortress wall body, the inner retaining part of the wall body, the chi, and the moat remain underground within a relatively narrow area.

According to Gijang-gun, approximately 15 meters of the fortress wall body was confirmed, and it is judged that the lowest foundation stones, base stones, and pedestal masonry remain well preserved throughout the entire survey area.

The remaining fortress wall body has a height of about 1.6 to 1.8 meters and a width of 7.0 to 7.5 meters. The inner retaining part was identified inside the fortress wall. The chi protrudes toward the southeast, with a remaining length of 7.5 meters.

Although houses stood on top of the chi until recently, causing some damage, the lowest foundation stones, base stones, and pedestal masonry remain well preserved. Additionally, the inner wall of the moat was confirmed about 11 meters away from the fortress wall body. The remaining depth of the moat is 0.5 meters.

Gijang Eupseong.

Gijang-gun explained that despite the narrow survey area, the discovery of the fortress wall body, its inner retaining part, the chi, and the moat provides important data that can reveal the overall structure of Gijang Eupseong as well as the construction techniques of the fortress wall.

A representative from the Culture and Sports Division of Gijang-gun Office stated, “Part of the moat on the east wall was also confirmed in this survey,” adding, “The part presumed to be the inner retaining section was also identified, which is expected to contribute as supplementary material for the national historic site designation of Gijang Eupseong.”

They continued, “We will conduct detailed excavation surveys in the future to accurately verify the fortress wall construction techniques and promote preservation and maintenance. We will continue to advance the Gijang Eupseong restoration project to improve the surrounding environment of the fortress and do our best to promote the history of Gijang.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.