Upper Natural Shrine-Altars
of Inwang-san
Between the Benevolent King and Tiger Crags
On the highly-sacred "Benevolent King" Mountain, Shamanic center of Korea's Capital
an important part of the Bukhan-san Sub-Range
Above, the craggy-peak on the left is the In-wang or  Benevolent* King himself (in a seated position seen
in left profile), or the San-shin if you will, overlooking downtown Seoul.  To his right (the other rocky peak) is
his accompanying Tiger (pet / servant / guardian / mount / enforcer / alter-ego) with a dark bird perched
behind his head.   These natural boulder-cliff-formations are among Korea's most significant sacred
monuments, serving as masters over the nation's most active center of Shamanism and folk-religious
traditions.  They are both "manifesting" up out of this mountain in geological time.  Much more on this Korean
concept of spirits manifesting upwards in stone is here.  Between and behind them is, most unfortunately, a
military base, because this most sacred peak overlooks the Gyeongbok-gung Palace (main royal seat 1392-1910) and
Korea's Presidential Mansion (the "Blue House").  

These unique rocky outcroppings on the southern cliff face of this mountain, along with other striking natural
features such as the Seon-bawi (seen here directly below the King) have attracted shamanic worship to this
place since before recorded history.  The main figure can be seen as a Benevolent King that will rule
humankind (or at least Koreans) in a utopian state when he finally finishes manifesting, or as a kind of
natural Buddha statue, or as Mireuk-bul (the Buddha who will come in the future for universal enlightenment
and salvation), or the best interpretation, in my opinion) as the very powerful San-shin [Mountain-
spirit] of these crags manifesting into the world in stone, in his role as King of the Mountain (as he is usually
painted, wearing distinctly royal clothing), extended to national significance (could even be seen as the
return of Founding-King Dan-gun, who is sort of the San-shin of all Korea).  The fact that he (or she?) is
side-by-side with a crouching tiger certainly lends weight to the San-shin interpretation -- as that deity is
always depicted in icons accompanied by a tiger (Korea's national animal).

They both have stone-altars beneath them, and the Central Upper Shrine-Altar is right in-between them.

*The Chinese character pronounced In is one of the most important in Oriental philosophy; it is often translated benevolence, or maybe
human-hearted, or simply Good / goodness; it's a key Confucian and Neo-Confucian term, as the master himself repeatedly used it to
describe how rulers ought to act towards those under them (if they do not they are not to be considered legitimate rulers).
It is also heavily used by Buddhists due Inwang-gyeong [Benevolent King Sutra] which was very influential in the early centuries CE when
Mahayana Buddhism became established in China and spread to the Korean Peninsula.
Closer look at the main temple area of the Inwang-san -- indicated are features that are shown / explained in
detail on other pages: the "view crags" are gigantic boulders that visitors can climb up on for one of the best views of
Seoul City from anywhere; the Seon-bawi is a weird humanish formation that just may be the most-worshiped rocks
in the world; the Guksa-dang is Korea's National Spirit Shrine (not actually visible in this shot because it is hidden
behind those big trees); the "Main Hall" is a Shamanic/Buddhist temple that calls itself the central worship-building of
the entire complex; the sextagonal roof of the Bell Pavilion built by the government in the 1980s; and Seonam-
jeongsa, the largest and most prominent out of the many Shamanic/Buddhist temples here.
Seon-bawi--->
Guksa-dang--->
View Crags--->
<--Seonam-sa
<--Tiger body
"Main Hall"-->
Benevolent King
or Sanshin--->
<--Magpie behind tiger-head