‘구어역’(仇於驛)의 위치에 관한 고찰: 불국사 경내 출토 ‘仇於馹’(구어일) 명문기와와 관련하여

Abstract

This paper concerns with the geographic location of the post station of Gu-eo in the southeastern part of modern Gyeongju City sometime during the Goryeo Dynasty. Gyeongju University Museum conducted an archaeological expedition in the territory of Bulguksa temple in 2004. The archaeological excavation witnessed a great deal of artifacts such as pottery, porcelains, imported Chinese porcelains, various kinds of roof tiles, and a bronze seal, and of features including a total of nine architectural remains. Among these artifacts, 184 roof tiles on which three Chinese characters(i.e., 仇於馹) are inscribed have drawn a lot of scholarly attention in conjunction with the location of the post station of Gu-eo. Based on the roof tiles, some scholars argued that Gu-eo post station may have been located at the archaeological site of the Bulguksa temple since the roof tiles of Gu-eo were recovered at the site. This paper utilizing some documentary sources such as the Samguk yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms), Goryeosa [History of Goryeo], and Sinjeung Dongguk Yeoji seunglam [New Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea], and old maps compiled during Goryeo Dynasty and the 18th century attempted to vindicates that the post station of Gu-eo was located at Gu-yeok village[Old station village] of Gyeongju. In the mean time, the archaeological excavation exposed a foundation of Bu-do(Memorial stupa) around the architectural remains. Especially it is critical to point out that five Memorial stupas are still standing near the site. Memorial stupas were erected as tomb in which to preserve the ashes of cremated honored Buddhist monks. This strongly indicates that the site and the architectural foundations were not related to post station but to Buddhist temple of Bulguksa. In addition, it turns out that the old road still exists as it has been and is being used by local people. Taken all this together, this paper argues that it is probable that Gu-eo post station was not located inside of Bulguksa temple but located somewhere near the old road as it appears in the old maps.