The Spatial Structure and Inhabitants of Goguryeo's Capital in the Ji'an Region

The purpose of this article is to examine the temporal changes in the spatial structure of Goguryeo's capital city in the Ji'an region, as well as the extent of residential areas and the composition of its inhabitants. When the capital was relocated from Huanren to Ji'an, the central area was situated in the western part of the Ji'an basin, around the Masangu area. From the 3rd century onward, the central area shifted to the Ji'an plain fortress, located in the central part of the Ji'an basin. Based on the premise that the “directional administrative divisions”(방위명부) were closely related to the spatial organization and administrative structure of the capital, attention was given to the construction of a new plain capital in the mid-3rd century and the concurrent migration of ruling elites from the Na-bu (one of Goguryeo's administrative divisions) to the capital. Accordingly, it was interpreted that high-ranking officials, referred to by their specific Na-bu names, resided within the inner walls of the plain fortress, while relatively lower-ranking officials lived in the directional administrative divisions outside the fortress. The composition of the capital's inhabitants was broadly classified into three groups: “urban aristocrats,” small households (小家), and the poor/lower classes. The “urban aristocrats,” referred to in historical records as “residential elites” or “great households”(大家), were defined as those who received food supplies in the form of taxes from outside the capital. Small households (小家) were not subordinate households paying taxes to the “urban aristocrats” but were defined as commoners who paid taxes directly to the king, state, or government. This group included self-sustaining farmers, urban artisans, lower-ranking officials, soldiers, and their families. Additionally, the existence of impoverished or lower-class individuals, such as tenant farmers who depended on the “urban aristocrats” and small households for survival, was also identified.