Yulli Rock Shelter Site, Geumgok-dong

The Yulli Rock Shelter Site in Geumgok-dong lies below the western ridge of Geumjeongsan Mountain, facing the Gimhae Plain across the Nakdonggang River. Behind the site, a rock wall about 6 m high stretches out like a folding screen; the site is well preserved and, without any particular damage, clearly shows how it looked at the time.
From December 1972 to January 1973, the Pusan National University Museum carried out an excavation and identified three open-air hearths inside the rock shelter and one stone-pile feature outside it. Below the rock shelter there was a shell midden containing comb-pattern pottery and other remains, but because of the excavation only the rock shelter site remains today. Inside the rock shelter and in the shell midden, comb-pattern pottery from the late to final Neolithic period was unearthed along with polished stone axes, whetstones, stone chisels and polished stone arrowheads. Judging by the excavated artifacts, the site is believed to have been used as a living space from the late Neolithic period to the Bronze Age.
This site combines a rock-shelter dwelling and a shell midden. Judging by its size, location and excavated artifacts, it is presumed to have been a temporary dwelling for gathering oysters and other shellfish; however, given the unusual location of the site and the discovery of artifacts different in character from everyday items, such as cowrie-shaped clay objects and oval clay objects, it may also have been used as a ritual space. The Yulli Rock Shelter Site in Geumgok-dong is a representative site of the final Neolithic period and is extremely important for understanding the culture of the transitional period from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age and the way of life at that time. In particular, Busan has many shell midden sites because it borders rivers and the coast, but the Yulli Rock Shelter Site is the only site in the entire country formed around rocks in a mountainous area like this.

(Source: Korea Heritage Service)