Sri lanka tours

Yapahuwa Rock fortess in Sri Lanka

The staircase leading to the building known as the Temple of the Tooth

Rear view of the portal pavilion

The kingdom that began after the collapse of the Dambadeniya Kingdom was the Yapahuwa Kingdom. The capitals of Sri Lanka gradually migrated to the southwest due to invasions and natural disasters. The fourth stop in that transition was the Yapahuwa Fort. Yapahuwa, located about 4 km northwest of the Mahawa Junction in the Mahawa Divisional Secretariat Division of the Kurunegala District, is an ancient rock-cut city that became the capital of the island for a short period of about a decade in the 13th century.

This ancient site, which has evidence of being used as an important defensive position in the face of frequent foreign invasions after the Polonnaruwa Kingdom, has been a settlement since a very distant period in terms of antiquity. Yapahuwa and the surrounding area, which has evidence of settlement dating back to the prehistoric period, were an important settlement during the prehistoric and early historical periods. Although archaeological evidence is available for this, the earliest reliable written mention of Yapahuwa is largely limited to the 13th century. Evidence is found in written sources that a local ruler named Subha built a fort and city in Yapahuwa during the Kalinga Magha invasion and ruled the area from there. After this, some development work was carried out in Yapahuwa by Vijayabahu IV and it was an important defensive center during that period. King Vijayabahu IV, who had resided in Yapahuwa even before his kingdom, chose Yapahuwa as his capital shortly after his brother's death. The Yapahuwa Kingdom was the fourth kingdom in Sri Lanka.

Historical background

The ancient name of the mountain, now known as Yapahuwa, is unknown. The first mention of Yapahuwa is in connection with the fact that a general named Subha built a fort to protect the area and lived there during the indiscriminate reign of Kalinga Magha in the early 13th century. At this time and on several subsequent occasions, the mountain is referred to in the chronicles as Yapavva and Yapavgala. The Sinhala Bodhivamsa has attributed the name 'Sundaragiri Pava' to the subject of Yapahuwa. It seems that after Subha was chosen for his residence, this mountain was also known by the names Subhavala and Subhagiri. In the Dalada Pujavaliya, this mountain is referred to as Ayopabbata. The oldest archaeological evidence of the Yapahuwa site and its surroundings dates back to prehistoric times. Evidence of prehistoric settlement has been discovered at the Yapahu rock head, a cave on the rock slope and in the surrounding area. These evidence include used and unused quartzite roundels, used rathiriyal, kahanda and quartzite waste and rare quartzite stones. After the death of King Vijayabahu IV of Dambadeniya, King Buwanekabahu I, who ascended the throne, lived in Dambadeniya for a few years after his reign and then returned to Yapahuwa and established a very complex kingdom there, shining with prosperity. The reign of the first Buwanekabahu is limited to 12 years. It is unclear how long Buwanekabahu spent as the king of the country at Yapahuwa, as he spent the last few years of his reign as the ruler of Dambadeniya. The short period of Yapahuwa's reign as the capital of the island is second only to the Dedigama kingdom. However, the archaeological remains of Yapahuwa as a capital are second only to those of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya and sometimes Kandy. Paranavithana states that Yapahuwa is second only to Sigiriya in terms of its importance as a fortified city.

Archaeological remains

Apart from Sigiriya, there is no dispute that Yapahuwa is the most archaeologically important fortress on the island. The ancient road leading to the summit of Yapahuwa, a steep rock that cannot be climbed from the north, east and west sides, is located on the right side of the rock. The defenses on the south side of the rock, which is not steep and which can be accessed from the summit, needed to be strengthened by artificial strategies. To achieve this goal, the plain on the south side of the rock was surrounded by walls and moats, and then King Buwanekabahu may have built the Yapahuwa Kingdom. The inner city, protected by two moats and two walls, consists of a number of buildings that may have been of diplomatic importance and an ornate elevator. The royal palace and other buildings, as well as structures including bastions and ponds, were located on the mountain peak. Today, we see only ruins of those magnificent creations made during the reign of King Bhuvanekabahu I.

Outer City

The outer moat and the outer city wall, the gate pavilion connected to the outer city, and the area from the outer city wall to the inner city moat are considered the outer city. The inner city is several times larger than the outer city in terms of area, but no clear buildings can be identified in this area. However, the only archaeological evidence that suggests a building belonging to the outer city is the three steps carved into a rock about 22 meters west of the western gate of the inner city. In addition, several ponds not found in the inner city are found in the outer city, raising doubts among archaeologists as to whether the outer city area was the 'royal garden' that was considered a necessary part of a royal palace but is not identified in Yapahuwa.

The outer city wall and the outer moat were built to enclose the area of land that includes the inner city located at the foot of the rock and the outer city surrounding it. The moat ends on both sides of the moat and ends at the Yapahu Rock. The outer moat, which runs for more than a kilometer in the shape of a horseshoe, is now 18 meters wide and 03 meters deep.

Outer Wall

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The outer city wall located inside the outer moat runs parallel to it for the entire distance the moat runs. The wall is about 04 meters high and about 22 meters wide in well-preserved places. Evidence is seen in several places that the lower part of this is built of stone blocks and the upper part is built of bricks. There are 03 gates for accessing the inner city from the center of the outer city. More interesting and more elaborate is the southern gate. This gate, with 16 steps leading up and down the gatehouse, is thought to have been used by pedestrians and may have been the main gate.

Steps and Quarry

About 22 metres west of the western gate of the inner city, there are three stone steps on a rocky outcrop. There is a natural quarry 6 metres east of this step, and there is evidence that its banks were lined with rubble stone.

Inner City

The inner city wall and moat, which form the boundaries of the inner city, follow the same horseshoe-shaped layout as the outer moat and wall. One end of the inner city wall and moat join the rock behind the Archaeological Museum, while the other end joins the rock below the ledge to the right of the Yapahu Rock. Most of the notable monuments of the Yapahu City are to be seen within the inner city.

Inner Moat

The width of the inner moat, which forms the outer boundary of the inner city, varies from place to place, and is approximately 14 meters wide and currently 1.7 meters deep. The total length of the inner moat is 330 meters.

Inner Wall

The inner wall, which runs along the inner moat, is an attractive and elegant structure of well-cut stone. The highest point of this wall, which varies in height according to the terrain, is 3 meters. At the top of the wall, a row of stones cut into the shape of a gable roof has been used. There are two gates to enter the inner city along the wall. Two stone sluices can also be seen in this wall, which helped the water collected in the inner city to flow down through the inner wall to the inner moat. The total length of the wall is about 440 meters.

The Assembly Hall

The building with a four-tiered plan, located at the beginning of the decorative staircase leading to the Dalada Palace, is called the Assembly Hall. This building, which is 17.7 meters long and 11.9 meters wide in the northeast-southwest direction and 03 flights of steps lead to it from the southeast, northwest and southwest directions.

The Royal Palace

Although it is generally accepted that this building, which is square in plan, is the royal palace, no historical or archaeological evidence has been found to confirm this. This building, which is 26.7 meters long and wide, appears as a square platform with a brick bank.

Buildings

The ruins of 03 main buildings can be seen in the inner city. The intended purpose of this rectangular building, located to the west of the building known as the 'Sabhashalawa', is unclear. This building, located on one side of the old street, is 66.3 meters long but 6.6 meters wide. Adjacent to this building is another similar building on the other side of the street. This building, which is 70 meters long, is connected to the rock in a courtyard on the opposite side of the street, so no walls are visible. The other building is located near the building known as the Dalada Maligaya.

Ornate staircase with a gateway

All the architectural and artistic elements in the Yapahu were designed to beautify the steps leading to the courtyard with the building known as the 'Dalada Palace' and the gateway at its upper end. This is such an elaborate creation that it is difficult to even describe the appearance of this decorative staircase. The steps, decorated with stone figures of dwarfs, figures of nymphs, female figures, doorkeepers, punkalas, lianas, korawak stones, koudya pillars, a pandal with a crocodile face, a Gajasingha korawak stone, dancing figures, etc., are an amazing creation of the Yapahu, and the pair of 'lion sculptures' on the alwela on both sides further enhance its value. (Of the two lion sculptures on the ornamental staircase, the lion sculpture on the eastern side is completely completed, while the lion sculpture on the southern side is not completely built.) In addition, the doorway, triple pillars and dragon pavilion of the Dwara Mandapa are a testament to the architecture and art of Yapahuwa.

The Temple of the Tooth

Those entering the small courtyard through the Dwara Mandapa will encounter a brick building measuring 30 meters west-east and 17.1 meters north-south. There are two rows of steps to access the building from the 3.4 meter projection of the front wall, which is considered to be the Temple of the Tooth.

Ruins of Parwata Mastaka

The ancient archaeological evidence in Parwata Mastaka consists of a few prehistoric evidence of questionable reliability and evidence of settlement from red-colored clay pots that can be dated to the last millennium BC or the first two or three centuries AD. Apart from this, 32 structures including ponds and embankments, which are believed to have been built in the 13th and 14th centuries, have been identified in Parwata Mastaka, which is about 05 acres. In some places, the uneven ground has been leveled by embankments to make it suitable for building. Among these buildings, except for the largest building, the royal palace, and a few other buildings, the intended meaning of most of the buildings is unclear at this time. The remains of a series of stairs, probably belonging to the route to the peak, can be seen intermittently on the southern slope of the peak. Five natural rock caves of various sizes can be seen in the peak, some of which have been turned into ponds with their banks blocked. There are also three places with various sizes and numbers of culverts and associated foundation drains in the peak, while only two places have culverts. A stone-cut drain and a pair of circular foundations are also among the ruins of the peak. In addition, two ponds and a flower garden can be seen in the peak. Among the ruins of the peak, there are also six comb walls of various sizes and shapes. Apart from this, there are also the ruins of a guardhouse in the peak, where the ruins of several buildings can be seen. Furthermore, the stupa at the highest point of the mountain peak and the nearby Bodhigarh remain among the ruins of the mountain peak.

Cave complex

There are about 40 caves in the vicinity of the Yapahuwa Rock, of which about 25 are made by cutting holes. These caves provide evidence of a monastery complex that existed in the vicinity of the rock. Pre-Brahmi inscriptions are found in 03 of these caves, and it seems that these caves were used as a monastery from the beginning of the Christian era or a little before the Christian era. There is evidence that some of the natural caves that were not cut holes were used as dwellings. Since evidence representing the prehistoric era is also found in some of the caves, it seems that these caves have been affected by human activities since the prehistoric era. A large distribution of caves is seen in the northern, eastern and southern slopes of the rock. Of these 40 caves of various sizes, the largest is 30 meters long, 8 meters deep, and 30 meters high.

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