• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.40-48
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• 2011

Mt. Hee-yang is located in Mungyeong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. Through the analysis and interpretations of twenty-two different ancient writings which covers Mt. Hee-yang, and three times of field studies, I tried to analyze the cognition of our ancestors in those days regarding Mt. Hee-yang. Since Mt. Hee-yang goes very deep in the mountain range, Mt. Hee-yang was recognized as appropriate place for seclusion or operating Byeolseo. From the era of Silla, in terms of Fengshui, Mt. Hee-yang was also interpreted as an image of either a phoenix flying into the sky(鳳凰登天) or a valley of a phoenix and dragon(鳳巖龍谷). This cognition comes from its formations of topographical features, and continued to the era of Joseon Dynasty. The purposes of excursion were to retrace the course of predecessors, to attain one's long-cherished desire to visit, or to enjoy holidays. From the analysis of Mt. Hee-yang's visitors, the average social status of them is lowered a lot around the end of Joseon Dynasty, compared with the early period of Joseon Dynasty. Studying the visitor's route of Mt. Hee-yang, I could see the places that are highly-recognized were the top of Mt. Hee-yang, Seonyudong(仙遊洞), Bakundae(白雲臺), Yayuam(夜遊岩). Mt. Hee-yang was recognized as Sun-kyung(仙境) where Sin-seon(a taoist hermit with miraculous powers; the sage of old) lives, and mostly it was main destination of visit while Bakundae(白雲臺) was perceived diversely on each visitor because of its strange scenery.