Inwangsan
Southern side of Inwangsan (2023)
Highest point
Elevation	338 m (1,109 ft)
Geography
Inwangsan South Korea Show map of Seoul Inwangsan Inwangsan (South Korea) Show map of South Korea
Climbing
Easiest route	Gyeongbokgung Station

Korean name
Hangul	인왕산
Hanja	仁王山
Revised Romanization	Inwangsan
McCune–Reischauer	Inwangsan

Inwangsan (Korean: 인왕산) is a mountain with a height of 338 meters, located in Jongno-gu and Hongje-dong, Seodaemun-gu, central areas of Seoul, South Korea.^[1] The name literally means "compassionate/benevolent king" in Korean. The mountain covers an area of 1,086,696.50 m² and has many huge granite peaks which distinguish it from other mountains in Seoul. Each rock is named after its characteristic form, such as gicha bawi (기차바위, train rock), chima bawi (치마바위 skirt rock), iseul bawi (이슬바위 dew rock), moja bawi (모자바위 hat rock), and jiryungii bawi (지렁이바위 worm rock).^[2]

Inwangsan is famous for its view, so many painters depicted the mountain in their works such as Jeong Seon's Inwang jesaekdo. The Fortress Wall of Seoul surrounds the mountain in which Inwangsa temple and Guksadang shrine are located as well.^[3] Access to certain parts of the mountain, including the peak are limited during certain days and times due to the location of a military installation spanning different parts of the mountain.^[4]

History

During the reign of King Sukjong of Goryeo, there was a palace in Nam-gyeong, the capital of the south, and it was recorded as Myeongak. Later in the Joseon Dynasty, the mountain was called " Baekaksan Mountain, " as there was a shrine dedicated to the mountain god. Since then, it has been called the Bukaksan Mountain because it is located in the north among the mountains surrounding Seoul. The mountain facing the south was called Namsan. The height of the mountain is 342 meters, and it is gently flat to the south, and has a triangular raised shape that looks better than the surrounding mountains. After the collapse of Goryeo and the establishment of Joseon Dynasty, King Taejo Lee Seong-gye established the palace as a royal palace, and it was honored as a royal palace. When the Joseon Dynasty was founded, a shrine to honor the mountain god was created at the Sanjeong Department. South Korea at the Gyeongbok Palace, below the mountain in 1394 (Taejo of four years), fortification and gyeongmudae, the president's office (景武臺) in here, too. (靑瓦臺) Cheong Wa Dae, currently president of the office is located below the mountain.^[5]

Inwangsa Temple

Inwangsa Temple can be found at the southern foot of Inwangsan mountain. The temple was established in the early Joseon dynasty to guard Gyeongbokgung palace to the east. There are 11 shrines from five Buddhist orders leading up to Seonbawi, an unusuaul rock formation that has been used for many shamanist rites and rituals. One of the shrines in Inwangsa is Guksadang, a famous shamanist shrine that is actively used for rituals to this day.