Jeolla Byeongyeong Fortress served as the headquarters of the Jeolla Provincial Army Commander, the officer responsible for overseeing all land forces across Jeolla Province during the Joseon dynasty. This military garrison was originally located in Gwangsan-hyeon — present-day Gwangju — but in 1417, the 17th year of King Taejong's reign, it was relocated to its current site in what is now Byeongyeong-myeon, Gangjin, where a fortress wall was built around it. Tradition holds that the construction was led by a military officer named Ma Cheon-mok.
No clear record survives explaining exactly why the military command was moved from Gwangju, a hub of administration and commerce, to a far smaller township — though it's plausible the decision reflected the site's value for coastal defense and its strategic position for overseeing the whole of Jeolla Province. Whatever the reason, from that point forward, all of Jeolla Province's military administration was conducted from this small rural township for the remainder of the Joseon dynasty. As the following story shows, this fortress later became the site where the Dutch castaway Hendrick Hamel and his crew were held captive for seven years — making it a rare place where Joseon's military history and its history of international contact directly overlap.