Daegaya History Theme Park is located in what was the center of the Daegaya Kingdom. The park offers various areas to learn about not only the history of the area but also the current culture and the future of Goryeong. In particular, visitors can enjoy various items produced during the Daegaya era such as pottery, ironworks, and gayageum (traditional Korean string instrument), as well as visit the park's 4D theater and walk along the forest exploration trail.
Established in 2005, Goryeong Life Sports Park is used for promoting and expanding citizens' sports activities, as well as for rest, leisure, and community unity among Goryeong residents. It is a comprehensive sports facility consisting of a natural grass soccer field, artificial turf soccer field, two jokgu courts, two baseball fields, a basketball court, tennis courts, a ssireum (Korean wrestling) arena, archery range, futsal field, and an athletics track. Except for the basketball court and track, reservations must be made by phone in advance with Goryeong County Office. Equipped with outdoor lighting, both daytime and night games are possible. Nearby tourist attractions include Goryeong Eobuksil, which hosts an annual festival featuring canola flowers in spring, and cosmos and pink muhly grass in autumn.
Daegaya History Theme Tourist Site is a tourist attraction themed around the history of Daegaya, which was the capital and where the earliest pottery, ironware, and Gayageum culture in Korea flourished brilliantly. It offers attractions such as a video hall, relics and Mystery Country Daegaya Experience Center, and Daegaya Exploration Forest Trail to see, feel, and experience ancient culture through advanced facilities. Gaya was a confederation that existed from around the beginning of the Common Era until Daegaya was absorbed into Silla in 562, promoting independent foreign exchanges based on superior iron culture and leaving excellent cultural heritages like the Gayageum. Goryeong-gun belonged to the Gaya cultural sphere and was the central capital of Daegaya, where many relics and sites from the Gaya period have been excavated. As the capital of Daegaya and a central pillar of Gaya culture, and to reorganize the Gaya cultural area and restore and spread Gaya culture through cultural festival exchanges, academic and historical value, the Daegaya History Theme Tourist Site was established in Goryeong-gun, the central capital of Daegaya.
The Goryeong Jisandong Burial Mounds were first excavated in 1906 and to date about 700 large and small tombs have been uncovered. All tombs are round mound tombs in appearance and are categorized as large, medium, or small based on the size of the mound. Large tombs are mainly clustered on the upper ridge, medium tombs in the middle or lower ridge, and small tombs are found around or below the large and medium tombs without ridge-level distinction. The burial mounds are classified internally as stone-lined tombs, stone-chambered tombs, and stone room tombs. They are believed to be the tombs of the ruling class of Daegaya, constructed mainly from the 4th to 6th centuries. This is supported by the fact that the Goryeong area was the center of the Daegaya Kingdom, and the main mountain fortress of the Daegaya era is on the ridge surrounding Daegaya-eup like a screen where the burial mounds were excavated. The Daegaya burial mounds excavated here were inscribed as a World Cultural Heritage site in 2023 due to their high heritage value. Among them are Jisandong Tombs No. 44 and 45, the first known royal tombs with human sacrifice in Korea, as well as many large and small tombs believed to be those of royalty and nobles. These tombs have yielded distinctive Daegaya pottery, ironware, horse gear, and lavish ornaments such as the gold-bronze coronet and gold earrings used by the king. Nearby, the Royal Tomb Exhibition Hall and Daegaya Museum display artifacts excavated from Jisandong and reproductions of the tomb interiors, offering detailed insight, and visitors can view Jisandong Tomb No. 30 in person.
The Jisan-ri Dangganjiju was designated as a Treasure on January 21, 1963. It is located within a private residence in Jisan-dong, an area that has transformed into a village, so the site of the old temple is no longer visible. However, since the original pillars face each other east and west in their original location, it is assumed that this area was once a large temple complex. The corners of the outer surfaces are beveled and decorated with geometric patterns, showing highly ornamental and elaborate design techniques. The top of the pillar is pointed, featuring three curved sections shaped like a bow as it descends outward. Inside the pillar are two rectangular holes for inserting the danggan (flagpole). Because the upper and lower parts of the pillar are almost the same size, it appears somewhat heavy, but the carving techniques on the outer edges of each side represent a fine work. Overall, the carvings are elaborate and elegant. Based on these carving methods and the refined stone, it is believed to have been constructed during the mid-Unified Silla period.
Goryeong Hyanggyo is a national educational institution established for memorial rites for sages and Confucian education, located in Seongji of Yeonjori in the center of Daegaya-eup. It was first built in 1413 (Taejong 13) beneath the main mountain, and after being burned during the Imjin War, it was reconstructed behind Gwaneumsa Temple. In 1701 (Sukjong 27), magistrate Gumunyu relocated it to its current location, and in 1819 (Sunjo 19), magistrate Gwonjeungi expanded it. This site is the most historically significant place in Goryeong, hosting a palace in the Daegaya period, Mulsansa Temple in the Unified Silla to Goryeo eras, and the Hyanggyo in the Joseon period. Goryeong Hyanggyo is a hyanggyo of the jeonhak-hu-myo (learning front, shrine rear) type, positioned southeast at the foot of the main mountain. The two-tiered site has a school area in front featuring the outer three gates and Myeongnyundang, and a ritual area behind with the inner three gates and Daeseongjeon aligned in a straight line. To either side of Daeseongjeon are Dongmu and Seomu, while Binheungjae lies on the side of the ritual area. Daeseongjeon is a 3-kan frontage, 2-kan side single-eaved roof structure with a five-ryangga choikgong design, built on granite plate stones. Myeongnyundang is 5-kan frontage and 2.5-kan side, with a central 3-kan main hall and 2-heated rooms on either side, in a mid-hall pea pod form. It is a five-ryangga muikgong style building with a long maru porch at the front. The east and west buildings, arranged obliquely beside Daeseongjeon, are 3-kan frontage, 1-kan side L-shaped single-eaved houses. Goryeong Hyanggyo well represents the characteristics of hyanggyo architecture in the Gyeongbuk region built after the 18th century.
