Hwando () is a mountain fortress of the ancient Korean kingdom of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

, built to protect Goguryeo's second capital, Gungnae. It is located in present-day Ji'an city of the province of

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

, China. The fortress is located 2.5 km west of

Ji'an Ji'an ( zh, c=吉安 , p=Jí'ān) is a prefecture-level city situated in the central region of Jiangxi province of the People's Republic of China and bordering Hunan province to the west. It has an area of and as of the 2020 census, had a popu ...

province in

Northeast China Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...

, near the

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

n border. It is part of the UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom, together with nearby

Gungnae City Gungnaeseong () or Guonei () was the capital of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, which was located in Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula. The perimeter of its outer fortress measures 2,686m. It is located in present day Ji'an city, Jilin pr ...

and the Ohnyeosan City, because of its historical importance and exceptional architecture.

History

In 3 CE, King

Yuri of Goguryeo King Yuri ( 38 BC – 18 AD, r. 19 BC – 18 AD) was the second ruler of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the eldest son of the kingdom's founder Jumong. As with many other early Korean rulers, the events of ...

moved the capital to Gungnae Fortress, and built the Wina Rock fortress.Volume 13
(page 18) of

Samguk Sagi ''Samguk sagi'' () is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. Completed in 1145, it is well-known in Korea as the oldest surviving chronicle of Korean history. The ''Samguk sagi'' is written in Classical ...

Gungnae Fortress, the capital, was a fortress on Amnok River's

plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...

, while "Wina

Rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

fortress" () was a fortified city in the

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

which was later renamed to Hwando by King Sansang of Goguryeo. Goguryeo consolidated its power and began to threaten the Chinese commanderies, under the nominal control of Wei. In 242, Dongcheon attacked a Chinese fortress near the mouth of the Amnok River leading to the

Goguryeo–Wei War The Goguryeo–Wei War was a series of invasions of Goguryeo from 244 to 245 launched by Cao Wei. The invasions, a retaliation against a Goguryeo raid in 242, destroyed the Goguryeo capital of Hwando, sent its king fleeing, and broke the tributa ...

; in 244, Wei invaded Goguryeo and sacked Hwando.{{cite book, last1=Tennant, first1=Roger, title=History Of Korea, date=2012, publisher=Routledge, isbn=9781136167058, page=22, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SlGnq9flYdMC&pg=PA22, accessdate=29 October 2017, language=en Goguryeo ended China's presence on the Korean peninsula by conquering the

Lelang commandery The Lelang Commandery was a Commandery (China), commandery of the Han dynasty established after it had conquered Wiman Joseon in 108 BC and lasted until Goguryeo conquered it in 313. The Lelang Commandery extended the rule of the Four Commande ...

in 313. However, Goguryeo faced opposition by the proto-Mongol

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...

who had conquered northern China; the

Murong Murong (; Eastern Han Chinese, LHC: *''mɑC-joŋ''; Middle Chinese, EMC: *''mɔh-juawŋ'') or Muren refers to an ethnic Xianbei tribe who are attested from the time of Tanshihuai (reigned 156–181). Different strands of evidence exist linking ...

clan of the Xianbei attacked Goguryeo and sacked Hwando in 341, capturing thousands of prisoners to provide cheap labor. The Xianbei also devastated Buyeo in 346, accelerating Buyeo migration to the Korean peninsula. Goguryeo, though temporarily weakened, would soon recoup and continue its expansion.

Gallery

File:Hwando Mountain Fortress Entrance.JPG, Entrance plaque File:Hwando Mountain Fortress Wall.JPG, Detail of a wall File:Watchtower in the Hwando Mountain Fortress.jpg, Remains of a guard tower File:View of ShanChengXia Nobility Cemetery.JPG, Goguryeo tombs near Hwando

References

Ancient Korean cities Former capitals of Korea Archaeological sites in China Former populated places in China Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Jilin World Heritage Sites in China Goguryeo fortresses