East and West Three-story Stone Pagodas in Namsan-dong, Gyeongju

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.124

Category

Sites & Pagodas

Era

통일신라시대

Designated year

1963

Location

경주시, 경상북도— 경북 경주시 남산동 227-3번지

Coordinates

35.793126, 129.244012

This pair of stone pagodas, like the famous pair in Bulguksa Temple -- Dabotap Pagoda and Seokgatap Pagoda -- is a rare example of pagodas with different styles making up a pair. While the eastern pagoda is made by piling stones cut like bricks, the one in the west is a typical three-story pagoda. Modeled after brick pagodas, the eastern pagoda stands on a double-layer stylobate placed on a base made of eight nicely cut and composed stone blocks. Each of the core stones and roof stones for each story is carved out of a single rock, and each roof is decorated with a 5-tier cornice as a typical element of this type of stone pagoda. The western pagoda has the images of the Eight Guardian Deities carved on the four sides of its double-tier stylobate. These Eight Guardian Deities are not a simple decoration for the pagodas that appear on those made after the mid-Silla Period but are an expression of the belief that the pagoda is the world of Buddha, Mount Sumeru. Like its pair in the east, each of the core stones and roof stones for each story is carved out of a single rock, and each roof has five-tier cornices and pole patterns carved on all four corners. While such pair of stone pagodas built in the Unified Silla Period was constructed with the same style, these two pagodas were built with different styles.

Location