Planning to combine a palace visit with a walk along Suwon’s walls? Choose your focus before choosing how far to walk. Hwaseong Haenggung Palace was a royal lodging and government office, Hwaryeongjeon Shrine commemorated Jeongjo, and Suwon Hwaseong Fortress enclosed the city. Comparing these sites is a different plan from completing the whole wall circuit.
When Planning Your Visit
The Suwon Hwaseong Fortress menu on the Suwon Cultural Foundation site includes items such as visitor information, Hwaseong Haenggung Palace night opening, and cultural tourism commentary guidance. Admission conditions, operating hours and whether commentary reservations are available can change by season, so it is best to check the relevant guide page just before your visit. Because the circumference of the wall alone is 5,744 m, this is a large heritage site, and it is better to build a relaxed plan around the three places than to try to see every facility in a day. For inquiries, the Suwon Cultural Foundation gives 031-290-3600.
1. Hwaseong Haenggung Palace: A Temporary Palace of Scale and Formality, and the Time of Restoration
Hwaseong Haenggung Palace is Historic Site No. 478. It was built in 1789 for use as a government office when the tomb of Crown Prince Sado was moved and the seat of the Suwon local government was relocated to the foot of Paldalsan. It was also the temporary palace where the king stayed when he came down to Suwon. In 1795 Jeongjo held the 60th birthday banquet for his mother, Lady Hyegyeong of the Hong clan, here, and in 1796 it was completed on a scale of more than 600 kan in total. Jeongjo made 12 royal tomb visits over 11 years, from February 1790 to January 1800, and stayed at Hwaseong Haenggung Palace each time.
During the Japanese colonial period the palace was used as a hospital and a police station and was mostly destroyed, and today only Nangnamheon and Noraedang retain their original form. In the late 1980s local citizens formed a restoration promotion committee and campaigned for restoration; restoration work began in 1996, and work on the central area was finished in 2002. The recorded source describes excavation and restoration of Uhwagwan and Byeolju as ongoing from 2016. This is the source’s account, not confirmation that work is continuing on your visit date. The appearance at the time of construction remains in the pictures of 『Hwaseong Seongyeok Uigwe』 and 『Jeongni Uigwe』.
2. Hwaryeongjeon Shrine: The Hall Beside, Enshrining the Royal Portrait
Hwaryeongjeon Shrine is Historic Site No. 115. It was built beside Hwaseong Haenggung Palace in 1801, the first year of King Sunjo, to enshrine Jeongjo's royal portrait and hold ritual ceremonies. According to the source, following an order to build a separate hall for the portrait after Jeongjo's death, it was completed in the short period of about two months.
3. Suwon Hwaseong Fortress: The Fortress Becomes the Skeleton of the City
Suwon Hwaseong Fortress was begun in January 1794 and completed in September 1796. It was built using 『Seonghwa Juryak』, which Jeong Yak-yong compiled with reference to Eastern and Western technical books, as its guide, under the overall direction of Chae Je-gong and the command of Jo Sim-tae, and new machines such as the Geojunggi and Nongno were devised and used. The walls are introduced as 5,744 m in circumference and 130 ha in area, with the fortress extending across flat ground in the east and the slopes of Paldalsan in the west. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1997.
Closing
After considering the palace’s restoration history, compare it with the shrine’s construction date. Hwaryeongjeon Shrine was built in 1801, after Jeongjo’s death. Rather than treating all three sites as unchanged settings from his lifetime, distinguish royal accommodation, posthumous commemoration and later restoration. These differences make Suwon’s heritage easier to understand.
Questions before your visit
How do Hwaseong Haenggung Palace, Hwaryeongjeon Shrine and Suwon Hwaseong Fortress differ for visitors?
The palace housed the king during visits and served as Suwon’s government office, while the shrine enshrined Jeongjo’s portrait and hosted rituals. At the fortress, focus on the walls and street network surrounding and structuring the city rather than on individual halls.
Are all the buildings at Hwaseong Haenggung Palace unchanged from Jeongjo’s time?
No. The source identifies Nangnamheon and Noraedang as retaining their original form and describes restoration beginning in 1996, with the central area completed in 2002. Distinguish preserved buildings from restored spaces; that chronology alone does not establish the extent of restoration or access on your visit date.
Must I walk all of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress after visiting Hwaseong Haenggung Palace and Hwaryeongjeon Shrine?
No; choosing a section near the palace is another option. The walls have a circumference of 5,744 m and span flat ground to the east and Paldalsan to the west, so comparing the three sites and completing a circuit are different plans. This is a suggestion for choosing a section, not a verified walking route or timing estimate.
The three images in this article are AI-generated imagined illustrations, not photographs of the actual sites or exact architectural reconstructions.
Sources
Source check date recorded in the manuscript: 2026-10-15
