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In 1914, Shin Chae-ho was in exile after leaving the Joseon Dynasty. He was invited by Yoon Se-bok and went to Dongchang School in Huanren(桓仁), Liaoning Province, China. It was nine years after Torii Ryuzo of Tokyo Imperial University visited here. And it was only a year since Torii, who investigated this place again, said that 'Ohnyeosanseong(五女山城) is the city of Goguryeo'. Shin Chae-ho stayed in Huanren for a year and lived as a teacher at Dongchang School. He visited the Goguryeo ruins of Jian City in Jilin Province and looked around the Monument of King Gwanggaeto, but he did not leave a word about the Goguryeo ruins in Huanren. Maybe he did not know that this was the birthplace of Goguryeo.

Forgotten Land

Countless people visit Huanren, the birthplace of Goguryeo. Someone goes to study history, someone goes to Baekdu Mountain on the way. But not for long. It has long been a fringe land since Goguryeo moved its capital to Pyongyang in the 5th century. And after the 7th century when Goguryeo was destroyed, it became a forgotten land. This place was far from the center of Silla, Balhae, Gueran, and Jurchen; Goryeo advocated the succession of Goguryeo, but did not pay attention to its birthplace. After the 17th century when Qing was founded, it was set as a forbidden area(封禁地) for about 200 years and became an ‘unknown land’ without human access.

The fall of the Ming and the growth of Qing made the intellectuals of Joseon have an interest in history and geography over the Yalu River. Only then did the origin of Goguryeo and its relevance begin to be mentioned. However, it was a discussion lacking on-site exploration. In the early 20th century, Japanse Imperialism and colonial history, apart from its intentions, sought this place in pursuit of Goguryeo. While describing the history of Goguryeo as a uncivilized and stagnant history, they did not believe the early records of 『Samguksagi』. There were a few differences such as Torii, but the birthplace of Goguryeo was out of concern.

The remains that Disappeared Due to the Dam

Since the 1960s, China has conducted archaeological surveys based on province. As a result, there were numerous Goguryeo stone mounded tombs in Jian city and Huanren area. As a result, Huanren and Jian were identified as the center of Goguryeo, and especially Huanren was confirmed as the birthplace of Goguryeo. This is because the remains and relics of Huanren were judged to be relatively early compared to Jian.

The Huanren area is a basin terrain surrounded by rugged mountains, with the Hunjiang River and tributaries flowing between them. And the alluvial plane along the river stream is distributed with Tomb of Mang-ganglu, Tomb of Sangoseongja, and Tomb of Goryeomyoja. Not far from these tombs, there are Ohnyeosanseong considered the early capital of Goguryeo and Hagoseongjaseong(下古城子城) a flatland fortress during the Goguryeo period. However, the Nahapseong(喇哈城) which is considered to be the remains of Goguryeo, and the area of Goryeomyoja(高麗墓子) which is recently noted as the center of Goguryeo, was submerged in 1968 when the Huanren Dam was completed.

Unresolved Problems

Huanren is expected to be the center of the early Goguryeo, but there are three questions. First, it is the location of the flat center. Ohnyeosanseong has a beautiful landscape, is a landmark of Huanren, and is a relic associated with the early capital city. This is a clear fact. However, it is difficult to say that the king of Goguryeo lived in his usual residence. Hagoseongjaseong, Goryeomyoja, Nahapseong, etc. were mentioned, but no detailed excavation or investigation was conducted on Hagoseongjaseong. And in the area of Goryeomyoja, Nahapseong has already been submerged for more than 50 years. This is why there are many interpretations about the flat center.

Second, it is a matter of Ohnyeosanseong. Huanren has been considered the birthplace of Goguryeo since the 1980s. Historical literature shows Ohnyeosanseong as Heulseulgolseong(紇升骨城) or Jolbonseong(卒本城). On the other hand, based on the records of the terrain described in the literature, views of Ohnyeosanseong as Wina-amseong were also presented; in the 2010s. In the former case, there is a weakness that it is difficult to find the location of domestic Wina-am except Ohnyeosanseong. On the other hand, the latter has a weakness that it is difficult to interpret the records of the Monument of King Gwanggaeto, which ‘built a castle on the western mountains of Jolbon and made it the capital’.

Third, it is a problem of the time when the capital was transferred from Huanren to Jian. There are records of the first and second centuries, which can be seen as the capital relocation. Archaeologically, however, it seems that the Jian region was used as the capital after the third century. To solve these three problems, we have no choice but to wait for detailed excavation, investigation and reporting on Huanren and Jian.

Waiting for the day to travel there again

The survey and maintenance of China in the 2000s, which responded to Korean researchers and tourists since the 1990s, changed many situations. As many new facts about the early history of Goguryeo were revealed, the possibility of various interpretations was opened and considerable achievements were accumulated. It was a result of forgotten memories, broken footsteps. But this is the outskirts of China and Korea. Pandemic makes travel difficult, borders closed. I hope that a small village on the outskirts of the country with reduced tourism revenue will be healthy, and I wait for memories and footsteps to continue again. On the other hand, it is thought that it is futile to claim ownership of Goguryeo history. Because the investigation, report and maintenance of the remains can only be done in China, and we have to wait for the investigation and report.