A subject's gaze is inevitably inherent in a process of discovering and appreciating any scenic spot. Landscape is not just recognized by natural objects themselves, but by the efforts of the subject who interprets the arrangement of natural objects from a new and different perspective and endows meaning to them. When the subject's interpretation and efforts get some social consensus and create various meanings, appeal, and emotions to the audience, people, only then, acknowledge a spot as a scenic place. Therefore, the subject's point of view is essential to the formation of the landscape.
The initial perception of Gyungpodae and its surrounding landscape can be found in the records of An Chuk, a scholar and poet of late Goryeo Dynasty. Before An Chuk, people would generally accept a place as a beautiful landscape only when it draws people's eyes in a unique and unusual shape. But An thought that any place could be meaningful enough to appreciate even though it was just simple and still. In a transition to Joseon Dynasty, the landscape formation around Gyeongpodae, which An suggests through his own interpretation, arouses the Confucian scholars' appreciation and, that way, Gyeongpodae is definitely recognized as the scenic place among the intellectuals of Joseon Dynasty.
The landscape that people can look out over from Gyeongpodae is repeatedly and considerably reproduced, mainly focused on the image of the open sea and the serene lake. However, these landscapes are difficult to differentiate from similar ones in other regions. It is the elements reflecting the regional characteristics that give the differentiation to such a landscape of Gyeongpodae. By tracing Sa-seon, that is, four hermits, An Chuk emphasizes, as a cultural element of landscape formation, the specific images of Taoist hermits in the Silla Dynasty, which are later passed down in the Yeongdong area of Gangwon province. In this way, Gyeongpodae gains locality. Also, it acquires Arcadian imagery like Xanadu by being tinted with some Taoist images. Another element that shows regional characteristics is an old episode of Hongjang. This anecdote, which owes to Taoist images of Gyeongpodae, shows various amusements of taste and gallant spirit that the intellectuals of those days enjoy.
Gyeongpodae becomes highly celebrated for a certain scenic spot by pre-modern intellectuals who dream of a Taoist ideal on the basis of Confucianism. Yet, it results in standardized typification of this place. In poetry depicting Gyeongpodae, materials and ways of expression are repeated similarly and typically. This tendency makes it possible for those who have not visited Gyeongpodae to share its archetypal images. As the perception of the subject becomes fixed to the language, the typification of the landscape gets increasingly intensified.