Three-story Stone Pagoda in Naehwa-ri, Mungyeong

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.51

Category

Sites & Pagodas

Era

통일신라시대

Designated year

1963

Location

문경시, 경상북도— 경북 문경시 산북면 내화리 47-1번지

Coordinates

36.692699, 128.294926

This small three-story stone pagoda is situated deep in the heart of a mountain in Mungyeong. Little is known about the history or size of the original temple to which it once belonged. At the time of its discovery, the various parts of the pagoda were widely scattered, and the core stone of its third story was serving a cornerstone of a shrine built at a later date. The pagoda was restored by correctly reconstituting the scattered parts in September 1960. Unusually, the pagoda consists of a one-story stylobate supporting a three-story main body. The stylobate is engraved with pillar patterns only on the edges of its south and north sides, and has a stone base for its north and south edges. The main body of the pagoda consists of core stones and capstones hewn from one stone each; and each corner of the core stones is engraved with a pillar pattern. The roof stone has a four-tier cornice and curves slightly upward around its corners. The base of the finial, which is made from the same stone as the roof stone of the third story, is the only remaining component of the upper part of the pagoda. Assumed to date back to the late ninth century, the pagoda, which has a one-tier stylobate without an upper base, reflects the social instability of the late period of the Unified Silla Period. During the pagoda’s restoration, a square sarira reliquary was discovered in the core stone of the first story, but it was stolen during the Japanese occupation period.

Location