Nammun-an Dangsan (Village Guardian Shrine)

About this place

A dangsan is an object of folk religious belief where a deity is believed to reside. The Nammun-an Dangsan was located on the site of Chwiwonmunru, also known as Geonseonu, which was known as the south gate of the Joseon-era town fortress, and was relocated to its current site in 1992. This dangsan, which appears to have served as a protective deity guarding the fortress, consists of two pieces of granite shaped and stacked like a single pillar, narrowing as it goes up. On the upper stone pillar there are four turtles carved in the middle, and on one face of the lower stone pillar are the names of 24 people who participated in creating the pillar. Every year on the first full moon of the lunar new year, a dangsan ritual (dangsanje) was held to pray for the peace of the village and its residents and for a good harvest, and tug-of-war was also performed to strengthen community solidarity. The rope used in the tug-of-war was also used in a ritual called 'clothing the dangsan' in which the rope was wrapped around the stone.