• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.37-44
• /
• 2010

Our country traditionally employed a defensive system against the aggression by foreign powers by using a town castle and mountain castle. The moat was one of such a defensive system; however, there is few research work on a moat in comparison with its long history. This study was carried out to see the process of the changes of the Wolseong Fortress at Gyuongju, focused on the moat of the scale and nature of the construction methods to analyze such a Wolseong Fortress at Gyuongju as a result of consideration through bibliographical study, on-site investigation, and interviews, etc. This research discovered some facts as follows: the moats of Wolseong fortress at Gyeongju are roughly divided into three types; the first one is a natural moat flowing curved by the south side of Wolseong using the natural stream[Namcheon]as it is; the second one is a pond-type moat made by digging up plane non-rectangular pond along stereobate of castle wall with lakefront built with stream pebbles, and the last one is masonry moat at the east side of Wolseong with chisel-trimmed granites orderly piled in a plane triangular form. Among these, the pond-type moat was identified at the east-north-west side of Wolseong and the pond slopes from east to west as a separate one constructed with the terraces.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.25-35
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study is to re-exam of the modern values of a moat to utilize it with various functions such as a military defense on the outskirts of the castle, dividing the space by its boundary, controlling the micro-climate in the worsening modern environment with temperature rise due to climate change and habitat reduction of animals, and providing the habitat of animals to modern urban space, etc. The scope of the study is focusing on the castles with the moat installed to prevent the enemy from accessing directly to the wall using a pond or water path for military defense on the outskirts of the castle or to divide it into boundaries. In the Orient, the Nakan Eupseong, Haemi Eupseong, Gyeongju Wolseong in Korea and the Forbidden City in China, and Nijo Castle and Osaka Castle in Japan were selected. In the West, Edinburgh Castle in Britain, Blois Castle in France, Chillon Castle in Switzerland, and Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark were selected for the study. As a research method, literature research and field research were conducted. For the Orient, it was conducted in parallel with the literature research and field research. For the western, it was mainly conducted with literature research. For the literature research, the origin of the moat, the concept of the moat, the function of the moat, the history and culture of the western moat are based on the data from the related institutions and previous studies. For the Orient field research, exploring was conducted in two to three times from Jan. 2016 to Dec. 2016 in each of the target areas of Nakan Eupseong, Haemi Eupseong, Gyeongju Wolseong in Korea and the Forbidden City in China, and Nijo Castle and Osaka Castle in Japan. The contents of the research were analyzed through interviews, photographs, measurements, and observations on the function, size, and characteristics of the moat of each target. The results of this study are as follows. The moat was a structure installed to set a boundary for military defense facilities on the outskirts of a castle and it played an important role as a part of the city in the ancient times of Asia and the West through the Middle Ages. The role of the moat is gradually disappearing due to the disappearance of the purpose of military defense. However, moats are excluded from modern landscape planning, despite the fact that a moat filled with water is a hydrophilic space with great historical and cultural value such as various cultural activities and providing habitats for animals. By reflecting on the moats various functions in modern cities and utilizing it, it is expected to be utilized to bring pleasant air into the city where the circulation of air is blocked and energize the city as a hydroponic element.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.29-38
• /
• 2010

A moat is a pond or waterway paved on the outside of a fortress that is one of the facilities to prevent enemy from approaching the fortress wall or classify it as the boundary space, and this study was undertaken to find out the characteristics of the moat that was existed in the East and the West from ancient time to medieval time with the following result. First, the moat in the East was installed of natural moat and artificial moat at the same time while the moat in the West had the fortress built in naturally advantageous site to use natural most substantially more. Second, the moats of Korea were smaller in scale compared to other countries (Japan, China and the Western countries). Third, the fortresses in the East were built to protect towns or royal palace while the West had the fortress to protect the residence of kings, lords, great wealthy persons and the like, and they were used jointly with the natural moat and artificial moat to defend against the infiltration of enemy. Fourth, the Pungsujiri in the Orient is one of the numerous ideologies forming the supplementary ideologic system of Korean people that could not be denied as the perception that influences on Korean people after the Silla Dynasty, and this Pungsujiri was considered when determining the location of the castle. The moat surrounding the castle had the role to keep the good energy in the castle from escaping away. Fifth, the Ha-Ha technique in the west was designed to prevent the external power from infiltration by digging the ditch on the place applicable to the boundary of the garden site, rather than the fence. While walking around along the water-side path without knowing the existence of this ditch, when the road is discovered with the cut off in the ditch, people had the exclamation without actually recognizing such astonishment. It was originally the dike for military purpose during the medieval time that was designed to look into the garden without physical boundary surrounded with the vertical fence in the garden that by having the deep ditch like shape on the boundary line of the garden which was designed to form the farm by preventing various types of cattle from coming inside the garden and bring in the garden element for farms, forestry, agricultural land and the like.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.105-120
• /
• 2011

A moat is a pond or waterway paved on the outside of a fortress that is one of the facilities to prevent enemy from approaching the fortress wall or classify it as the boundary space, moats had existed in Europe, Asia and the America from ancient times to medieval times. however it is has been disappeared in modem society. In addition, a moat is a great value in historical and cultural sense such as offering a variety of cultural activities and habitats for animals, but unfortunately there is little consideration of its restoration plan. This research is aimed to investigate historical and cultural meaning and significance of moats which had been existing from ancient times to medieval times in the Eastern and Western. For this purpose, this research analyzed concepts and functions in consideration with times and ideological backgrounds of moats in Korea, China, and Japan. Results were as follows: 1. Moats in Korea existed not only in the castle towns of Goguryeo but also in ancient castle towns of Baekje and Silla. Natural moats and artificial moats existed around castles that were built to prevent and disconnect accessibility of enemies In Goryeo Dynasty and Chosun Dynasty, moats were also used as a defensive function. 2. A moat was generally installed by digging in the ground deep and wide at regular intervals from the ramparts, A moat was installed not only around a castle but also in its interiors. Moats outside castles played an important role in stomping the ground hard besides enhancing its defensive power. In addition, water bodies around a facility often discouraged people's access and walls or fences segregated space physically, but a moat with its open space had an alert and defensive means while pertaining its visual characteristics. 3. The moat found at Nagan Eupseong rumor has it that a village officials' strength was extremely tough due to strong energy of the blue dragon[Dongcheon] in Pungsujiri aspects, so such worries could be eliminated by letting the stream of the blue dragon flow in the form of 'S'. 4. The rampart of the Forbidden City of China is 7.9 meters high, and 3,428 meters long in circumference. It was built with 15 layers of bricks which were tamped down after being mixed with glutinous rice and earth, so it is really solid. The moat of the Forbidden City is 52 meters in width and 6 meters in depth, which surrounds the rampart of the Forbidden City, possibly blocking off enemies' approach. 5. Japan moats functioned as waterways due to their location in cities, further, with the arrangement of leisure facilities nearby, such as boating, fishing from boats, and restaurants, it helped relieve city dwellers' stress and functions as a lively city space. 6. Korean moats are smaller in scale than those of the Forbidden City of China, and Edo, and Osaka castles in Japan, Moats were mostly installed to protect royal palaces or castles in the Eastern Asia whereas moats were installed to protect kings, lords, or properties of wealthy people in the west.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.39
• /
• pp.59-93
• /
• 2006

Wolseong in Gyeongju is a historic fortress site of Silla constructed under the reign of Pasanisageum that played politically and militarily important roles. The moat surrounding Wolseong had a function of protecting the fortress in wartimes but became a part of gardening in the unified Silla era. Lots of relics have been excavated from Wolseong moat since 1985. Among them a great number and kinds of convex roofing tiles are regarded as invaluable sources to show different aspects of Silla, from its earlier time through to the unified and on. Roofing tiles were widely used for national buildings such as royal palaces, temples and fortresses and even for other popular architecture and have been dug out a lot more than any other relics. Research on them, however, has been done poorly. Vigorous study is in progress with increasing number of roofing tiles coming from many recent excavations, though it has been limited to the studies on general genealogy of patterns and manufacture processes. Thus this essay seeks to find which are dongbeomwas, roofing tiles of a same mold, out of convex tiles with the pattern of a unilobed lotus flower dug out of Wolseong moat. It also attempts to identify dongbeomwas by examining detail characteristics of roofing tiles which have been confusingly termed as yusawa, similar roofing tiles, or donghyeongwa, roofing tiles of the same shape. The significance of identifying dongbeomwas could be emphasized by various facts resulting from researches on dongbeomwas; the ways to identify them correctly, their time sequence and their excavated sites. In conclusion, dongbeomwas were identified out of many kinds of convex tiles. If they were excavated from the same site, they share some common features. The sites where they were dug out also tell what changes were made with passage of time and what relations they had with neighboring Anapji. Since roofing tile molds haven't been found yet, the only way to identify dongbeomwas is to examine details of roofing tiles. Dongbeomwas excavated in Wolseong moat help to discuss the time of each district of it. Meanwhile it should be noted that the term 'dongbeomwa' be used only after exact examining.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.67-77
• /
• 2016

This study was initiated from question raised on existing study achievement that purpose for Wolji construction simply was to build gardens. In this research, after raising a question on existing theory about the Wolji construction, another purpose of Wolji construction is investigated. Study result is as follows. First, two questions raised on Wolji construction are "Was Wolji constructed as a garden from the beginning?" and "Was Wolji region available land as now at time of creation?" However, it was verified that the purpose of Wolji construction was to use not as a garden but as a detention pond, and the land of such region was unserviceable at time of Wolji construction. Second, in terms of locations and Topography, it was confirmed that Wolji has a favorable condition for undercurrent function as it is positioned at the end point of flow path formed by gushout water spurting from the water flooded from Bukcheon, or low and wetland. Third, from hydraulic point of view, Bukcheon always has a possibility of flooding occurrence before completing river bank build up, and such flooding damage was curved at Guhwangdongwonji, and at Wolji once again in order to prevent the damage spread into the center of Wanggyeong. Fourth, from urban planning point of view, it was confirmed that urban functions were not established in Wolji region before Wolji construction, and urban planning was completed through the opening of roads and others, after Wolji construction. Fifth, it was confirmed that inflow and outflow device of Wolji, and vertical stone platform at western side of Wolji were the facilities to provide sufficient functions as detention ponds.