Stone used at Yangju Hoeamsa Temple Site confirmed to have been brought from Taebongsan Mountain, not nearby Cheonbosan Mountain

The Hoeamsa Temple Site located in Yangju, Gyeonggi-do, is a large-scale temple that flourished with royal support from the late Goryeo period to the early Joseon period. Through recent research, it has been revealed that the source of the stone used in the construction of the Hoeamsa Temple Site is not the nearby Cheonbosan Mountain, but Taebongsan Mountain, located approximately 3km away.

According to a K-Heritage Channel video, while investigating the stone structures and material properties of the Hoeamsa Temple Site, researchers conducted a comparative analysis with the rocks of the nearby Cheonbosan Mountain. The investigation results showed that Cheonbosan Mountain did not contain the stone with the specific composition—accounting for about 10%—that was found in the structures of the Hoeamsa Temple Site. Instead, they confirmed that stone with that specific composition is distributed in Taebongsan Mountain, located in the direction about 3km away from the Hoeamsa Temple Site. Through this, it can be inferred that the stone was brought in from Taebongsan Mountain during the construction of the Hoeamsa Temple Site in the past.

Scientific data of Hoeamsa Temple Site artifacts viewed through microscope and XRF analysis

This research was conducted as a joint study by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and the Yangju Hoeamsa Temple Site Museum. The researchers utilized advanced scientific equipment to identify the physical properties of not only the stone but also various artifacts excavated from the Hoeamsa Temple Site. A scanning electron microscope was used to examine the fine surface and structure of the gilt decorations, and analysis methods such as XRD (X-ray diffraction) and XRF (X-ray fluorescence) were deployed to confirm the material properties of the clay Buddhist statues and blue tiles.

Samples related to the stone structures also underwent precise pretreatment processes to confirm their scientific characteristics through microscope and XRF analysis. These data are comprehensively reviewed by researchers to serve as key evidence for reconstructing the scale of Hoeamsa Temple, which was a center of East Asian Buddhist culture in the 14th century, as well as the construction and manufacturing technologies of that time.

New value of Hoeamsa Temple Site to be revealed through academic conference

Based on these scientific analysis results, the researchers held the academic conference 「Research and Analysis of Hoeamsa Artifacts」 on September 18, 2026, at the auditorium of the Yangju Hoeamsa Temple Site Museum. This academic conference was organized as a venue for researchers to synthesize the traces obtained from field investigations and the data derived from scientific analysis to report to the public.

The researchers appearing in the video expressed hope that this joint research will revitalize interdisciplinary convergence research, thereby serving as an opportunity to illuminate the Buddhist culture of the late Goryeo and early Joseon periods and enhance the value of the Yangju Hoeamsa Temple Site. The Hoeamsa Temple Site is evaluated as important material for future World Heritage listing, as it possesses various artifacts such as about 70 building sites, stone structures, gilt decorations, clay Buddhist statues, and blue tiles.