East Gate of Geumjeongsanseong Fortress

The East Gate, the largest of the four gate towers of Geumjeongsanseong Fortress and the one with the best view, stands on a pass 415 m above sea level on the main ridge of Geumjeongsan Mountain; as it is the easiest for residents to reach, it serves as the principal gateway of Geumjeongsanseong Fortress. According to the records on the Geumjeongsanseong Fortress construction stele, civil works began in late autumn of 1807 and the East Gate was completed in just one month. The East Gate is a single-story gate tower with an arched (hongye-style) opening, three bays wide and two bays deep, under a hip-and-gable roof. There is a story about the origin of the East Gate of Geumjeongsanseong Fortress from the time when Jeong Hyeon-deok, the magistrate of Dongnae, was working to rebuild the East and West Gates, which goes as follows. To build the two gates perfectly, the Dongnae magistrate searched for renowned stonemasons and found two, a master and his apprentice; he had the master build the East Gate and the apprentice the West Gate. The master in charge of the East Gate was full of ambition and greed and sought only to build it grandly, but the apprentice in charge of the West Gate, whose skills were superior, brought out an exquisite beauty and finished before his master. The master envied and resented his apprentice's outstanding skill, and the people of the time disliked the master and praised the apprentice's craftsmanship. However, after the construction of the East and West Gates was completed, the master and apprentice joined forces to work on Yeongnamnu Pavilion in Miryang.