Shitennoji Temple Site

2018 January 32024 January 10

It is located at the southern foot of the 115m-high Nansan Mountain (낭산), southeast of Banwolseong Fortress, the royal palace of Silla. Nansan Mountain (낭산) is dotted with many Silla period ruins, including the tomb of Queen Seondeok, the 27th king of Silla, the Hwangboksa Temple site, famous for being the place where Uisang the Great Monk shaved his head after becoming a monk, and Neungjitap, known as the cremation ground for King Munmu, the 30th king of Silla.

Silla allied with the Tang Dynasty to destroy Baekje and Goguryeo and unify the three kingdoms, but the Tang Dynasty, showing its ambition to rule the entire Korean peninsula, sent an army of 30 to attack Silla in the 14th year of the reign of King Munmu, the 674th ruler of Silla (50). At this time, Silla built Shitennoji Temple, hoping for the power of Buddha to force the Tang army to retreat.

According to the story of the founding of Sacheonansa Temple, recorded in the Samguk Yusa, the Tang emperor had attacked Silla many times but had failed every time, so he accused King Munmu's younger brother Kim Inmun, who was visiting Tang at the time, and imprisoned him, then planned to send an army of 50 to attack Silla. Kim Inmun, who had seen through this plan in advance, informed the monk Uisang, who was studying in Tang. Uisang hurriedly returned from his studies in Tang and informed King Munmu of Tang's invasion ambitions. King Munmu decided to ask the monk Myeongrang, who had studied secret techniques at Dragon Palace and was said to have strong supernatural powers, about the secret plan.

Myeong-rang Monk recommended building Shitennoji Temple in Sinyurim, south of Mt. Nangsan, but before construction could begin, news came that the Tang army was approaching. Myeong-rang Monk made a temporary temple out of five-colored silk and prayed with the Mundo Lou secret method (a secret method of esoteric Buddhism), but a strong wind arose and the Tang army was unable to fight Silla, and all of the Tang ships sank. Five years later, the temple was completed and named Shitennoji Temple. In other words, Shitennoji Temple was one of the representative Silla 5th Patriotic Temples that repelled the Tang army with prayers when Silla was in danger.

The layout of Shitennoji Temple's temple buildings was centered around the Main Hall, which was developed after the unification of Silla, and included the East and West Pagodas, and the Left and Right Sutra Towers to the north, but now only the foundations and cornerstones remain to tell of its past.

Among the remains that remain today,National Museum of KoreaThe Shitennoji Monument andGyeongju National MuseumRemaining items include the green-glazed brick statues of the Four Heavenly Kings, the tortoise-shaped base of the stone monument at the entrance to the temple with its head removed, and the flagpole support pillars.