서천읍성에 대한 고고학적 연구

Abstract

Located at a strategically important place and in the forefront of the western coast of the Korean Peninsula, Seocheoneupseong Walled Town was—from the viewpoint of the Japanese pirates (waegu)—on the main route of their intrusion into the Hoseo region during the early Joseon period. The strategic importance of the place where Seocheoneupseong was formed had been widely recognized among the rulers of medieval Korea with regard to the defense of the Hoseo region against the Japanese pirates. The fortification defending Seocheon was built beginning the 20th year of King Sejong’s reign and completed in the eleventh month of the following year upon completion of the fortress walls protecting Myeoncheon-eup. Seocheoneupseong was one of the first fortifications built according to the regulations on the fortification architecture and related defensive facilities constructed between the reigns of King Sejong and King Danjong in the early Joseon period. In addition, Seocheoneupseong inherited the heritage of the fortress architecture, including the structures of defensive facilities and building techniques as well as the concepts of defense systems newly introduced between the 16th and 18th centuries, and further developed them while maintaining the traditional fortification techniques. The latest archaeological excavations conducted in and around Seocheoneupseong resulted in the discovery of the remains of curtain wall, bastion (chiseong), moat embedded with “evil logs,” “thorns,” and “elms and willows” and trap pits in various sizes and shapes. The archaeological discoveries show that the walled town of Seocheoneupseong had more advanced defensive facilities, suggesting that the town functioned as the administrative center for the entire Hoseo region and a key military stronghold for the defense of the area. In conclusion, Seocheoneupseong had an array of defensive facilities built throughout the Joseon period and which characterized major phases in the history of Korean fortification architecture, providing important clues as to the defense systems of Joseon.