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King Guhyeong Tomb - 구형왕릉 (仇衡王陵) (reputedly 6th century, actual age unknown)

King Guhyeong (r. 521-32) was the final ruler of Geumgwan Gaya, the ruling city-state of the Gaya confederacy in what is today south-central South Korea. Throughout his reign he faced considerable pressure from King Beopheung of Silla who was aggressively expanding his territory westward. Recognizing the futility of fighting, he chose to surrender to the Silla forces. King Beopheung allowed him to retain a noble title, granting him the rank of "true bone" (the second highest) within the "bone ranking" system of the Silla state. The former king was given the rank Sangdaedeung and permitted to retain his former territory as a stipend land.

In the Samguk Yusa, a historical record written by the monk Ilyon in the 13th century, the memory of King Guhyeong is shown to have remained strong into the Unified Silla Era. It records King Munmu, the 13th Silla soverign (661-81) issuing the following decree:

"When King Guhyeong, in the ninth generation of descent from the founder of Karak-guk [another name for Gaya], surrendered to Silla, he brought with him to Gerim (Gyeongju) his crown prince, Sejong. Sejong begat Solu-gong, Solu-gong begat Seoun-Japgan, Seoun-Japgan begat Queen Munmyeong, and Queen Munmyeong gave birth to me. The founder of Karak-guk is therefore my ancestor of fifteen generations ago. Though Garak was destroyed long ago, his shrine still exists today. Ye, my loyal subjects, must enshrine his tablet in the national sanctuary with those of my royal predecessors and offer annual sacrifice to his noble spirt at the shrine."

Recent scholarship by the Museum of Silla University has suggested that it is unlikely that this is in fact Guhyeong's tomb. The layout does not correspond to the typically circular earthen tombs that were more common at the time. Instead, the tomb is comprised of seven layers of natural stones stacked in a rough pyramid reaching 7.15 meters in height. On the fourth layer there is a niche of unknown purpose measuring 40 centimeters to each side and 68 cm in depth. This niche, along with the generally pyramidal design, suggests that that 'tomb' may have served as a crude pagoda. The stone animals and altar found in front of the tomb are of relatively recent origin.

Address: 경남 산청군 금서면. (Gyeongnam-do, Sancheong-gun, Geumseo-myeon, Hwagye-ri).

Location

The approximate location of the academy is 35.449378' N, 127.800519' E (WGS 84 map datum).