Translation:
In two villages of Seon-ri, Dongbu-myeon, Gwangju-gun, the fierce waters from a summer flood rushed in and completely submerged the area. However, fragments of ancient roof tiles, inscribed with characters, were suddenly unearthed from a nearby sandy plain by a mountain peak. It is believed that this land is connected to Hanseongju, the ancient capital of Baekje. The characters on the tiles appear to be the names of military districts from Goguryeo or place names from the Silla and Goguryeo periods, but one part of the right side remains undecipherable, even after much research.
According to the geographical section of Kim Bu-sik’s *Samguk Sagi* (History of the Three Kingdoms), Cheongyang-gun corresponds to Goguryeo’s Doksanju-gun, Maesohol-hyeon is equivalent to Goguryeo’s Binyang-hyeon and Yanggeun-hyeon, Hyeon-ha-gun to Goguryeo’s Cheonjeonggu-gun, and Gobong-hyeon to Goguryeo’s Daleulseong-hyeon. Suseong-gun matches Goguryeo’s Maehol-gun. All these names were changed by King Gyeongdeok of Silla. Songak-gun and Goguryeo’s Busoap were left as they were by King Gyeongdeok, and later, King Taejo of Goryeo established these areas as part of the royal domain. These correspond to the first to fourth tiles. Present-day Yangju, Incheon, Yanggeun, and Gyoha are ancient names from Goguryeo, and the next three tiles refer to place names from late Silla and early Goryeo, including present-day Goyang, Suwon, and Kaesong. However, Cheonjeonggu is written as ‘Cheongu,’ indicating a slight variation. The two tiles for Gobong and Suseong have no inscriptions on the bottom.
The calligraphy on the tiles is bold and vigorous, like a dragon, similar to the inscriptions on the stele of King Gwanggaeto of Goguryeo. Some characters are round and grand, resembling those on the Pure Land Monument of King Jinheung of Silla, exhibiting an extraordinary quality. Though the inscriptions on the tiles are mostly broken and fragmented, they are comparable to shattered jade, a precious treasure. How could such a thing be taken lightly? Alas, this is a piece of the ancient land of the Three Hans. I hope that future generations of scholars will treasure it as a valuable heirloom.
I was not familiar enough with the method of handling these tiles, so I carefully applied some ink to them and made a rubbing, just barely capturing the shape. Along with this, I record the circumstances and await the detailed examination of learned scholars.
In the autumn of the year of Jeongmyo (1927), written by Wi Chang Byeong-bu.
