See Hwangnyongsa Temple, South Korea

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Hwangnyongsa, o rHwangnyong Temple, is the name of a former Buddhist temple in the city of Gyeongju, South Korea. Built in the 6th century, it was the center of state-sponsored Buddhism during the Silla and Unified Silla eras. Its name means "Golden/Yellow Dragon Temple" or "Emperor/Imperial Dragon Temple." Archaeological excavations and other scientific studies of the temple began in April 1976 (OCPRI 1984) and continue today. Only the massive foundation stones of the temple remain in current times. The original complex took seventeen years to complete.[2] The main hall was 155 feet (47 m) in length and 55 feet (17 m) in width.[2] The longest outer wall of the temple was 288 meters in length and the area enclosed by the outer walls covered approximately 80,000 square meters.[7] The temple ruins also contain pedestal stones which were for monumental Buddhist statues. One statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha was five meters tall.[5][8] The temple was originally arranged in the "three Halls-one Pagoda" style which meant that the pagoda was in the center of the complex and flanked by three main halls on the left, right, and behind the central pagoda.[7] The famous nine-story pagoda, which was commissioned by Queen Seondeok after the main temple was finished, was the largest Korean pagoda ever built as well as being the tallest structure in East Asia and the tallest wooden structure in the world at the time of its completion. It was reported to be 263 feet (80 m) tall and the body was made entirely of wood.[2] Only its foundation stones remain today but they attest to the mammoth proportions of the original structure. The pagoda had a foundation area of 6,084 square feet (565.2 m2), was supported by eight pillars on each side, and had sixty foundation stones.[2]

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