Uiseong Geumseong-myeon Ancient Tomb Cluster

About this place

The Uiseong Geumseong-myeon Ancient Tomb Cluster is spread across the areas of Daeri-ri, Tapri-ri, and Hakmi-ri, comprising more than 200 mounds with artifacts estimated to date to the 5th–6th centuries. The cluster consists of large mounds (15–19 m diameter, 3–4 m height), medium mounds (10–15 m diameter, 2–4 m height), and small mounds (under 10 m diameter), predominantly circular earthen mounds densely distributed. Excavations by the National Museum of Korea in 1960 and Kyunghee University Museum in 1965 revealed that the earthwork is layered horizontally around a central mound core, built from pure clay brought from outside the region — indicating enormous labor mobilization and a ruler of great political influence. The Joamun Kingdom was a tribal state of the Three Han period that flourished in the present-day Geumseong-myeon area of Uiseong-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, before being absorbed by Silla in 185 CE (2nd year of King Beolhyu). Documentary evidence for Joamun is extremely scarce, mentioned only briefly in the Samguk Sagi. The tomb cluster, believed to mark the capital site of Joamun, is an important source for understanding the local power structure and social organization of the Uiseong region and its relationship with Silla.