Mangdeoksa Temple Site

Mangdeoksa Temple Site sits at the foot of Mt. Nangsan, in Gyeongju, facing Sacheonwangsa Temple Site.

Its exact founding date is unknown, but it's traditionally dated to the reign of King Munmu or King Sinmun. Today the site preserves the remains of east and west wooden pagoda sites, with a main hall site and lecture hall site to the north, a middle gate site to the south, and a surrounding corridor site — together revealing a classic twin-pagoda temple layout typical of Unified Silla. A well-preserved staircase site also survives south of the middle gate site. King Hyoso, a Late Silla monarch, is said to have been buried east of this very temple — a trace of just how closely this temple was tied to the royal family.