Gungnaeseong () or Guonei () was the capital of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, which was located in Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula.The Capital City of Koguryo Viewed from the Satellite (enlarged edition) Northeast Asian History Foundation, Retrieved 2015-06-27 The perimeter of its outer fortress measures 2,686m. "Gungnae Fortress", Naver encyclopedia It is located in present day Ji'an city, Jilin province, northeast China. Because of its historical importance and exceptional architecture, Gungnae was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. It is part of the Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom World Heritage Site, together with nearby Hwando Mountain City and the Onyeosan City, in modern northeast China.
History Gungnae was chosen to become the capital city by the ruler, Yuri during the 10th month of the year 3 AD. The city was sacked several times until the rise of the 19th ruler, Gwanggaeto the Great, who greatly expanded Goguryeo's territory and made it a formidable power in northeast Asia.Water Jung, 《Nation building:the geopolitical history of Korea》, University Press of America, 1998. p.18 When King Gwanggaeto died in 413, his son, Jangsu of Goguryeo, inherited the throne and moved the capital down to Pyongyang in 427.Hyon-hui Yi, Song-su Pak, Naehyeon Yun, 《New history of Korea》, Jimoondang, 2005, p.224 The city played a central role of the kingdom after the power transfer.Ho-tae Cheon, 《The Dreams of the Living and Hopes of the Dead:Goguryeo Tomb Murals》, Seoul National University Press, 2007. p.4, p.10
Just before the fall of Goguryeo, Gungnae City fell to the Silla-Tang Chinese alliance when General Yŏn Namsaeng, son of Yŏn Kaesomun, surrendered the city in 666. Goguryeo fell in 668Djun Kil Kim, "This history of Korea, 2nd edition", The greenwood histories of the modern nations, , p.43 when the Tang army captured Pyongyang and took King Bojang and Yŏn Namgŏn into custody.Northeast History Foundation, "Journal of Northeast Asian History" Vol.4 1-2. 2007. p.181
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