Huju

Huju lay in the upper Yalu frontier country, where Joseon repeatedly opened, abandoned and restored military settlements. In the fifteenth century the area belonged to the frontier districts associated with Muchang and the Four Counties. Their remoteness made defence difficult, and the abolition of the counties in the 1450s left a long-lasting gap in regular administration.

A renewed garrison was established at Huju in 1674, when the Eomyeon post was transferred there. It was abolished in 1685 and its soldiers and civilians assigned to Eomyeon on the Jangjin River. Ginseng gatherers crossing the border and provoking friction with Qing China were the immediate reason for withdrawal. The post was restored in 1796 after repeated proposals to reopen the northern territory; in 1798 its command received the designation of an independent defensive garrison. In 1822 Huju became a dohobu under Hamgyeong administration. Settlement, military protection and control of border crossings remained closely connected.