The structure (along with the Ulmil Pavilion, which both served as command posts) was used by local troops to keep watch on potential foreign aggressors, given its high location on the hill. It also served as a command post for Konishi Yukinaga and 2,000 bodyguard troops during the Samurai Invasion of Korea in the 1590s and would see fierce fighting in the battles in the area, between the Japanese that had taken over the area and the Chinese troops that came to liberate Pyongyang in the aftermath.