Hadong

Hadong lies beside the Sŏmjin River, where mountain valleys descend toward the southern sea. During the Japanese invasion of 1597, forces advancing up the river burned temples including Ssanggyesa. The county seat was later moved to the riverside in 1702, shifted again in 1730, and settled at a new site in 1745. Ssanggyesa continued its religious life and printed Buddhist texts in the early eighteenth century.