About the Second Koguryo Capital

The article discusses the current issue of studying the second capital of the early medieval state of Koguryo. It reviews and generalizes the limited and somewhat outdated Russian historiography on the topic. In order to reveal the unique features of the capital during the middle period, key Korean and Chinese written and epigraphic sources were examined and analyzed. According to the written data of the “Samguk Sagi”, the existence of the second capital is connected to the period between 3–427 AD. Information regarding the location of the capital remains unclear until the end of the Koguryo period and is only revealed in the subsequent Bohai period. The analysis of written sources is complemented by archaeological data of the ancient Guonei city and Wandu Mountain City located in the Jilin province of China, which correlate with the capital’s sites. Guonei city located in modern Jian city was a large centre; the perimeter of the walls was approximately 2.74 kilometres. In the central part, buildings correlating to administrative or palace buildings were excavated. At the nearby Wandu Mountain City, the perimeter of the walls was approximately 7 kilometres, and a large palace complex stretching over four terraces was discovered. Archaeological information indicates a different time period of the capital as a fortified city, and confirms its functioning as a centre of the district and Huanzhou county throughout the Bohai period. It is believed that initially, the Koguryo leader established a military headquarters in a hard-to-reach mountain valley near Yalu river, which evolved into a big administrative and political centre as the state developed. Further archaeological surveys are needed in the Koguryo capital area to establish a detailed chronology and better understand the futures of the Koguryo capital, and to further explore the connection between archaeology and early chronicle information.