It was once generally accepted among historians that Anapji Pond in Gyeongju was called Wolji Pond during the Unified Silla period and that the complex of buildings situated to the west of the pond were the remains of Woljigung Palace, where the crown prince of Unified Silla had his residence and his offices. Recently, however, a new theory or viewpoint has emerged to the effect that the complex of buildings situated to the west of the pond was not actually the crown prince’s palace(called Donggung Palace, or the “Eastern Palace”) and that the pond currently called Anapji Pond is not the same as the pond called Wolji Pond mentioned in ancient sources.
The purpose of this study is to ascertain the original function of Anapji Pond and the aforementioned complex of buildings based on the extant historical materials related with the site. A careful survey of the “garden pond”(Wonji) at Wolseong clearly shows that the present-day Anapji Pond was known as Wolji Pond(月池, “Moon Pond”), where the first character, Wol(月), symbolizes the supreme authority or power. As for the complex of buildings, which now includes Imhaejeon Hall, no related records have ever been found, although there are some records about the renovation of the buildings and the banquets hosted in them by Unified Silla’s rulers.
One important clue concerning the function of the complex of buildings can be found in the record that Sujong, after being designated heir apparent(副君, Bugun), was allowed to reside in Woljigung(月池宮, “Moon Pond Palace”), and married Jeonggyo, a daughter of Kim Chunggong , two months later. Given that there is no record that Sujong(later King Heungdeok, r. 826-836) had any other consorts apart from Lady Janghwa, the record of Jeonggyo’s marriage to become a crown princess suggests that King Heondeok’s crown prince and the Bugun Sujong existed together for a certain period of time. One cannot argue, therefore, that Woljigung Palace, in which Sujong was allowed to live, was the crown prince’s palace. This also suggests that the complex of buildings to the west of Anapji Pond was directly connected with the crown prince of Unified Silla. As such, it is safer to conclude, based on the statements provided in The History of the Three Kingdoms(三國史記, Samguk sagi) and other historical records, that Imhaejeon Hall and Woljigung Palace were domains of the king, rather than the crown prince, of Unified Silla.