Jeongnimsa Temple Site

Site details

This site was home to the main temple during the period when Baekje relocated its capital to Buyeo (538-660). During excavations, a roof tile was discovered at the lecture hall site bearing the inscription "In the 8th year of Taepyeong, Mujin, Jeongnimsa Daejangdangcho (太平八年 戊辰 定林寺 大藏唐草)," indicating that the temple was called Jeongnimsa during the 19th year of Goryeo King Hyeonjong’s reign (1028). This suggests that during the Goryeo period, a new building was constructed on top of Baekje's original lecture hall, and it was named the Daejangjeon (Hall of the Tripitaka). Jeongnimsa Temple features a layout where the main buildings—such as the front gate, five-story stone pagoda, main hall (Geumdang), and lecture hall (Gangdang)—are aligned along a north-south central axis. The buildings are enclosed by corridors. Interestingly, the corridor surrounding the middle area of the temple complex is not a perfect square but instead forms a trapezoidal shape, with the northern side being wider than the others. The pond in front of the main gate, revealed during the excavation, has been restored, and a building to protect the seated stone Buddha statue was constructed in 1993. The site retains the five-story stone pagoda from the Baekje period and the seated stone Buddha statue from the Goryeo period. Artifacts discovered at the site include decorative roof tiles from both the Baekje and Goryeo periods, along with Baekje inkstones, pottery, and clay Buddha statues.