중 "Discovery of Presumed Dongmosan Site of Balhae Founding"... Strengthening Dongbukgongjeong?

The mountain fortress ruins in Mopanchon, Tumen, Jilin Province, China. Photo by China Cultural Relics WeChat

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] China announced that it has discovered a new area presumed to be the location of Dongmosan, a key founding site of Balhae history.

According to today's (17th) announcement by China's cultural heritage authority, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the mountain fortress ruins in Mopanchon Village, Tumen City, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province, presumed to be Dongmosan, were included in the "Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries in China in 2020." The Jilin Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, which conducted the excavation of this site, stated, "There is a possibility that this site is related to the records from the founding period of Balhae, which mention 'Dae Joyeong leading his group to build a fortress on Dongmosan.'"

The Mopanchon mountain fortress was designated as a national key cultural relic protection unit in 2006, and continuous excavations have been carried out for about eight years from 2013 to last year. Furthermore, this discovery represents a different approach from the previous assumption that Dongmosan was the Cheongsanji mountain fortress located in Jilin Province.

Accordingly, the Jilin Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology stated, "Based on current evidence, the phoenix-patterned roof tiles found at the site are very similar to those from the Liuding Mountain Balhae tomb cluster." They also added, "The grid-patterned flat roof tiles excavated from this site are found in both Goguryeo and Balhae relics."

However, the institute noted, "The dating of the initial artifacts is between the late Goguryeo period and the early Balhae period," but also stated, "Additional archaeological evidence is needed to accurately determine the cultural affiliation."

Meanwhile, China's "Northeast Project," which has attempted to incorporate ancient Korean histories such as Goguryeo and Balhae into its own history, continues to be a subject of ongoing controversy. Because this discovery could potentially strengthen the connection between Balhae and Goguryeo, there are also speculations that China may attempt to incorporate the entire history of Goguryeo into Chinese history.