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Balhae established external transportation routes which start and end at Sanggyeongseong Palace. These include Silla-do connecting to Silla in the south; Yeongju-do for exchange with Tang Dynasty, Amnok-do connecting Amnokgang River and Sanggyeongseong Palace, Georan-do, which is a traffic route to Kitan, and Ilbon-do to travel to and from Japan. These external transportation routes were established by Balhae for exchange with neighboring countries, and Sanggyeongseong Palace was where all the roads of Balhae converged.

Location and Structure of Balhae’s Sanggyeongseong Palace

- Palace Suited for Empire

Sanggyeongseong Palace is located in present-day Ningan, Heilongjiang, China. The third king of Balhae, King Mun, moved the capital to this place from Junggyeong around 755. The capital was temporarily moved to Donggyeong around 785 but moved again here during the reign of the fifth king, King Seong. It stayed as the capital until Balhae fell. In 『History of Liao』, it is also recorded as ‘Holhanseong,’ because Sanggyeong Yongcheonbu (city), under the jurisdiction of Sanggyeongseong Palace, is located along the Holhan River, which is the present-day Mudan River. The palace site is composed of the outer city, imperial city, and palace city. The outer city is 4,900 m from east to west and 3,400 m from north to south. A moat was built outside the castle, and traces of turrets remain at the four corners. The outer city had 11 gates. The palace city was constructed in a long rectangle form in the northern center, and the total circumference was 2,680 m. Traces of each turret and moat remain. The palace's main gate is called Obongru, and the pillar and foundation stone can still be found. The first, second, third, fourth, and fifth palace sites are located successively behind Obongru toward the north. The two palaces in the front are the main halls that mainly manage state affairs, and the palaces behind them are the living quarters and sleeping quarters. In particular, a gorae (furrow for heat and smoke to pass in the Korean underfloor heating system) facility for heating can be found in the fourth palace site. A well called Palbo Yurijeong still remains next to the second palace site. In addition, the site of a garden called Eohwawon is preserved, and there is another palace site next to it. Centering on Jujakdaero (broad passage) that runs from the southern gate of the imperial city to the south gate of the outer city, it was divided into Jwagyeong (left citadel) and Ugyeong (right citadel), and these areas were further divided into several units. In the imperial city, there must have been government offices, including three departments and six ministries.

The map on the right shows many Balhae ruins in the section from Yeongan, where Sanggyeongseong Palace is located, through the Mudan River to Jingpo Lake. However, most of them are still under surface investigation, which means that more excavation and research will be needed in the future to examine the Balhae ruins around Sanggyeongseong Palace. Meanwhile, excavation was completed to some extent in the following remains. Some of the representative historical sites are as follows;