The best walks and hikes in the T'aeback-Sanmaek

The turtle steles at Beomeosa Temple symbolize wisdom and longevity and serve as memorial stones for deceased monks.

Noriter

The road from Daegwallyeong to Seonjaryeong is famous for its snow-covered winter scenery, but the summer meadows and East Sea views are also fantastic.

The North Gate of Geumjeongsanseong Fortress is located 1.6 km west of Beomeosa Temple, at the spot where the main ridge, descending southward from Godangbong Peak, rises again toward Wonhyobong Peak. The North Gate exhibits the crudest appearance of the four gates of Geumjeongsanseong Fortress, has no arch-shaped decoration and is smaller than the other gates. The upper part of the foundational facility, measuring one kan (a unit of measurement referring to the distance between two columns) at the front and one kan at the sides, is a one-story watch tower with a half-hipped roof with a double-wing bracketing system. The gate measures 2.5 meters at the front, and 3.5 meters at the sides. The area around Sesimjeong Pavilion, situated in front of the gate, used to be known as 'Hwaeombeol' because the venerable Korean Buddhist priest Wonhyo (617-686) preached the Hwaeomgyeong, or Avatamsaka Sutra, there. It was also a training camp for monk-soldiers, including Buddhist monks from Beomeosa Temple, Gukcheongsa Temple, and Haewolsa Temple. The North Gate is known to be the passageway used by independence activists when they carried the Korean Declaration of Independence and the documents related to the independence movement and the March 1st Movement in 1919 at Beomeosa Temple, got off at Mulgeum Station on the Gyeongbu Line, by crossing Godangbong Peak of Geumjeongsan Mountain, and went to the Cheongnyeonam Hermitage.

A visitor walking from the Beomeosa Gregarious Wisteria Habitat along Beomeocheon Stream will find a spectacular heap of rocks extending from Geumgangam Hermitage to the North Gate of Geumjeongsanseong Fortress. This area, called Dolbada (" Sea of Rocks" ), is 70m wide and 2.5km long. It was formed by the natural process of water freezing and melting repeatedly in nearby chasms. The murmuring sound of water flowing to down Daeseongam Hermitage was thought to inspire religious faith, and it is regarded as one of the Eight Scenic Views of Geumjeong, and has the special name of Daeseong Eunsu (" Silver Water of Daeseong").

A visitor walking from the Beomeosa Gregarious Wisteria Habitat along Beomeocheon Stream will find a spectacular heap of rocks extending from Geumgangam Hermitage to the North Gate of Geumjeongsanseong Fortress. This area, called Dolbada (" Sea of Rocks" ), is 70m wide and 2.5km long. It was formed by the natural process of water freezing and melting repeatedly in nearby chasms. The murmuring sound of water flowing to down Daeseongam Hermitage was thought to inspire religious faith, and it is regarded as one of the Eight Scenic Views of Geumjeong, and has the special name of Daeseong Eunsu (" Silver Water of Daeseong").

In earlier times, at the entrance to the temple there was a flag to mark the boundary of the temple compound. The flag hung on a banner pole made of wood or iron. A pair of stone supports were used to firmly clamp the banner pole. These supports are thought to have been built in the late Goryeo Dynasty or the early Joseon Dynasty.

The symbolic entrance gate of Beomeosa, consisting of four wooden pillars on stone foundations, marks the beginning of the path to enlightenment and reminds visitors to enter with humility.