Janggobong type tombs are a type of the ‘convergent Wa-style stone chamber tomb’ and examples include the Haenam Janggobong tombs, Goseong Songhak-dong Tomb No.
1B-1 stone chamber, and Sacheon Seonjin-ri stone chamber tombs. However, some researchers have recently pointed out the structural differences of each stone chamber. In this study, it was revealed that the convergent Wa-style stone chamber tombs of the Janggobong type demonstrated differences in terms of their long rectangular planar shape (including the gate facility, which is an element of the Wa-style), in the construction method of the stone chamber, the flue structure, and the gate structure, all of which are the properties that have been used to establish this tomb type.
The Haenam Janggobong tombs can be identified as Wa-style stone chambers created on the local site with the appearance of the Keyhole shaped tombs, which were based on the horizontal-entrance stone chambers of the northern part of Kyushu, Japan. The rectangular of trapezoidal inverted planar shape and long corridor structure are similar to those of the stone-chamber tomb of Wa-style in the surrounding areas such as Naju and Haenam region, so it is necessary to understand this concept. The stone chamber of Goseong Songhak- dong No. 1B-1 was compared with the prebuilt stone lined tomb of Songhak-dong No. 1A-1, which accompanied the Wa-style element in the existing stone lined tomb construction tradition, and a tomb system called a stone chamber appeared. At this time, It is reasonable to assume that this type of stone chamber had been created in the form of a Wa-style stone chamber tomb. In the case of the Seonjin-ri tombs of Sacheon, it is difficult to establish if it is of the Japanese tradition or that of the southern part of the Korean Peninsula.
Various mutations occurred in the process of the emergence of the convergent Wastyle stone chamber tomb in the Gaya region. The Wa-style elements observed at Wondang Tomb No. 1 in Jinju were identified as a characteristic of the Wa-style stone chamber tombs of the Gaya region.
This study focused on the structural differences that could be observed in the case of the Janggobong-type examples of ‘convergent Wa-style stone chamber tomb’ in the southern region of the Korean Peninsula as a means of evaluating the validity of establishing such a type. It also examined the characteristics of individual tombs. The Haenam Janggobong Tombs, Goseong Songhak-dong Tomb No. 1B-1 stone chamber, and the Sacheon Seonjin-ri tombs remained for a long time within the framework of Janggobong-type tombs, and research directions and interpretations had to be made within them. However, the present study revealed that the clear structural differences made it difficult to approach all of these examples as one type. In addition, freed from the shackles of a single type, it became possible to obtain meaningful results, such as on the relationship with the surrounding area and tomb, by paying attention to the individual tombs.