• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.38-55
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• 2021

Cherwon Castle is located in Pungcheonwon, Cherwon, in the center of the Korean Peninsula. Currently, it is split across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas. It attracts attention as a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation and as cultural heritage that serves as data in making important policy decisions on the DMZ. Despite its importance, however, there has not been sufficient investigation and research done on Cherwon Castle. This is due to the difficulty involved in investigation and research and is caused by the site's inaccessibility. As a solution, the current investigative methods in satellite and aerial archeology can be applied to interpret and analyze the structure of Cherwon Castle and the features of its inner space zoning. Cherwon Castle was built on the five flat hills that begin in the northern mountainous hills and stretch to the southwest. The inner and outer walls were built mainly on the hilly ridges, and the palace wall was built surrounding a flat site that was created on the middle hill. For each wall, the sites of the old gates, which were erected in various directions , have been identified. They seem to have been built to fit the direction of buildings in the castle and the features of the terrain. The castle was built in a diamond shape. The old sites of the palace and related buildings and landforms related to water drainage were identified. It was verified that the roads and the gates were built to run from east to west in the palace. In the spaces of the palace and the inner castle, flat sites were created to fit different landforms, and building sites were arranged there. Moreover, the contour of a reservoir that is believed to be the old site of a pond has been found; it lies on the vertical extension of the center line that connects the palace and the inner castle. Between the inner castle and the outer castle, few vestiges of old buildings were found, although many flat sites were discovered. Structurally, Cherwon Castle is rotated about nine degrees to the northeast, forming a planar rectangle. The planar structure derives from the castle design that mimics the hilly landform, and the bending of the southwestern wall also attests to the intention of the architects to avoid the wetland. For now, it is impossible to clearly describe the functions and characters of the building sites inside the castle. However, it is believed that the inner castle was marked out for space for the palace and government offices, while the space between the outer and inner castle was reserved as the living space for ordinary people. The presence of the hilly landform diminishes the possibility that a bangri (grid) zoning system existed. For some of the landforms, orderly zoning cannot be ruled out, as flat areas are commonly seen. As surveys have yet to be conducted on the different castles, the time when the walls were built and how they were constructed cannot be known. Still, the claim to that the castle construction and the structuring of inner spaces were inspired by the surrounding landforms is quite compelling.