Twin Lion Stone Lantern at Yeongamsa Temple Site, Hapcheon

A stone lantern is placed in a Buddhist temple to be used for light offerings to the Buddha. It is typically placed in front of the main worship hall or a pagoda.

This stone lantern at Yeongamsa Temple Site is presumed to date to the late 9th century during the Unified Silla period (668-935). In 1933, during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945), Japanese people tried to illegally take this stone lantern, but local residents stopped them and kept it at Gahoe-myeon Township Office. In 1959, a hermitage was built at the temple site to house the stone lantern. In 1984, the site of the main worship hall was identified through an archeological survey, and the stone lantern was moved to its current location in front of the main worship hall site. The stone lantern consists of an octagonal base, a three-tier pedestal, a light chamber with four openings, and an octagonal roof stone. The three-tier pedestal consists of a lower and upper tier with lotus designs and a middle tier in the shape of two lions. The two lions stand on their rear paws atop the lower pedestal, facing each other, and prop up the upper pedestal with their front paws. The sides of the light chamber are engraved with depictions of the Four Guardian Kings, who protect the Buddha's teachings. Holes found at the sides on the light chamber indicate that its openings once had shutters.

Source: Korea Heritage Service signboard ↗ · collected 2026-10-08