It is located at the southern foot of Mt. Songak.
It is the site of the royal palace of Koryo, the first unified state of Korea.
It covers an area of 1 250 000 square metres and the space of the royal palace is about 390 000 square metres. The palace was often called Manwoltae because it gave a view of the moon, and the name was inherited over generations so as to designate the palace. There were many gates in Manwoltae that consisted of the royal palace and imperial palace.
As the most magnificent, the Sinbong Gate was a 2-storey building where the king and feudal officials watched games and viewed the army.
There were many halls and pavilions around the Hoegyong Hall, the central building of the palace. Near the palace there were detached palaces and pavilions covered with green tiles, including the Thaephyong Pavilion, and gardens thick with flowers and fruit trees, but in 1361 they was burnt down by foreign forces and now only their sites remain. It is registered as a World Cultural Heritage site.
