Temple story · Editorial summary, not a direct quote
The Cliff Buddha at the Top of the Twelve Grottoes
The rock-carved seated Buddha of Golguram
Encyclopedia of Korean Culture: 'Rock-carved Seated Buddha at Golguram, Gyeongju'; Korea Heritage Service portal: 'Rock-carved Seated Buddha at Golguram, Gyeongju'; Golgulsa website: 'History of Golgulsa'
At the highest of twelve grottoes made from natural caves is a Buddha carved into the cliff, thought to date from late Unified Silla.
In the Girimsa valley in Gyeongju, Golguram, now Golgulsa, has twelve grottoes made from natural caves, and on the highest rock face among them a Buddha four meters tall is carved. A painting of this grotto, 'Golgul Seokgul,' in the Joseon-era album Gyonam Myeongseungcheop, shows a wooden antechamber in front of it; the building is gone, and only traces of it remain here and there on the rock. Because the stone is uneven in quality, the figure has lost everything below the knees. Parts of the chest and halo are also damaged, yet the face still shows long, half-open eyes and a faint smile at the corners of the mouth. Its flat body and thin, step-like folds of robe resemble the stone Vairocana Buddha of Chukseosa in Bonghwa, made in 867, so it is thought to have been carved in the late ninth century, in late Unified Silla. When you stand before the Buddha, look for the traces of that lost antechamber on the rock.