고려시대 옥천지역의 변천과 용암사의 창건연대

Abstract

The Okcheon region consists of 4 gun or hyeon, specifically, Gwanseong, Aneup, Isan, and Yangsan. Since the Silla Dynasty Period, the three hyeon of Aneup, Isan, and Yangsan persisted under Gwanseong-gun, and these then became the sokhyeon of Gyeongsan-bu following the overhaul of the gun-hyeon system in 1018. As a result, indigenous local functionary groups ruled these areas for quite a while without a district magistrate being dispatched, and only in 1143, was a hyeonryeong dispatched to Gwanseong and later on hyeonryeong and gammu to Yangsan and Isan respectively. In 1313, when Gwanseong-hyeon was elevated to the status of Okju, which had a jisa appointed, the three hyeon of Aneup, Isan, and Yangsan were separated from Gyeongsan-bu to came under its jurisdiction, with the government office in current Gunseo-myeon moved to Okcheon-eup. The process described above served as the basis for forming the regional identity of ‘Okcheon’ today, and the fact that the Okcheon region served as a gateway as the boundary between Chungcheong and Gyeongsang, or, in short, an important traffic center seems to have functioned as a cause in terms of such a background. Meanwhile, recently Yongamsa has become known as an ancient temple representing the Okcheon region. According to its origin myth, the temple was reportedly founded around the middle of the 6th century, but almost no relevant records were found in various documents or epigraphs before 1872. The East-West Three-Story Stone Pagoda and the Rock-Carved Standing Buddha remain within temple grounds as artifacts from the Goryeo Dynasty Period, and considering the fact that they were created before the founding of Okju, they seem to be placed in a rather rugged place in the mountains with somewhat of a lack of accessibility from the government office in Gwanseong-hyeon. Therefore, it is possible that Yongamsa didn’t exist during the Goryeo Dynasty Period, and the location was simply used as a small hermitage or a place of prayer. Even if there was a temple, researchers assume its status would not have been as big as they once expected.