Bogyeongsa Five-story Stone Pagoda, Pohang

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.2274

Category

Sites & Pagodas

Era

고려시대(1023년)

Designated year

2024

Location

포항시, 경상북도— 경상북도 포항시 북구 보경로 523 (송라면, 보경사)

Coordinates

36.252104, 129.317773Kakao address conversion

This English description was machine-translated and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the original Korean text for details.

The Five-Story Stone Pagoda at Bogyeongsa Temple in Pohang, located before the main Dharma hall, rises to approximately 4.6 meters in height, consisting of a single-layer stone foundation supporting five tiers of pagoda body stones and roof-slope stones, with the upper finial composed of a stone platform and inverted lotus-cap elements. The construction date is established through the "Record of the Golden Hall Pagoda at Naeyeonsan Bogyeongsa Temple" composed by Seonmyeong Daesa Youjeong in 1588, documenting that in 1023, during the reign of King Hyeonjong of Goryeo, a five-story blue stone pagoda was constructed and placed before the temple's main building. The original structure has undergone partial replacement of base panel stones, the uppermost stone, and the fourth and fifth story body stones and roof-slope stone, while maintaining relatively good preservation of original form. The primary distinguishing feature consists of the clearly depicted door-shaped motif with lock and door-ring carvings on the front of the first-story body stone, representing a symbol of Buddhist reliquary veneration that originated in Unified Silla stone pagodas and continued through the Goryeo period. The water-drainage groove technique on the underside of the first and second roof-slope stones, together with the door motif and lock carving techniques, appears also in the "Five-Story Stone Pagoda at Gaesinsa Temple Ruins in Yecheon" constructed in 1010 and the "Five-Story Stone Pagoda at Jeongdosa Temple Ruins in Chilgok" constructed in 1031, confirming that the Bogyeongsa pagoda exemplifies the characteristic Goryeo stone pagoda styling that developed from Unified Silla traditions through the eleventh century. With clearly documented construction records and characteristic construction techniques and stylistic features of eleventh-century stone pagodas, the Pohang Bogyeongsa Five-Story Stone Pagoda possesses substantial historical and scholarly value.

Location