동북아역사재단 2014년 05월호 뉴스레터
The South Gate of Daeseong FortressKoguryo moved its capital from Jian (집안, 集安) to Pyeongyang in 427 A.D. Since then, Daeseong Fortress in the city of Pyeongyang remained the capital of Koguryo for 160 years. Surrounded in three directions by rivers (by the Daedong River to the east, by the Habjang River to the west, and by the Jangsu River to the south), Daeseong Fortress is open only to the north for access by land. The most notable characteristic of Daeseong Fortress is that it contains more lakes than does any other castle in Koguryo. According to 15th-century literature, the Fortress has 99 lakes. But the number '99' here did not represent the actual number of lakes. It simply signified that there were many lakes. The lakes in the fortress were very effective defense, and they suggest that the people of Koguryo put their heads together and strived to reinforce the defensive power of Daeseong Fortress.
