Around the year 676, it is said that a Buddhist monk threw a wooden duck from the top of a mountain to determine the site for a new temple. According to the story, the wooden duck flew down the valley and landed at a specific spot, where a temple was subsequently built. This place came to be known as Apgoksa 압곡사 鴨谷寺. Apgok 鴨谷 means “the valley where the duck sat.”
Someone described Apgoksa as a tranquil sanctuary embraced by the mountains, where it feels as though all the worries of the world simply fade away. padyatri had wanted to visit this place for a long time, and since he happened to have something to do in Gaeum 가음, Gunwi 군위, he stopped by on the way back. As you leave the main road and walk 1.4 kilometers along a cement-paved mountain path, a temple nestled deep in the valley comes into view. Although it is possible to drive up, he parked in the open area near the entrance and walked from there. 
Apgoksa was built by making the most of the narrow land on the mountain slope. Its simple and unadorned beauty, with restrained decoration, combines with the aged and weathered wooden buildings to put visitors at ease. Traditional Korean earthenware jars in the courtyard contain various fermented pastes and sauces consumed by monks and devotees. A large white dog greets visitors in a leisurely manner.
It happened that a Dharma gathering was being held on the day padyatri visited. You can see the shoes of the abbot and the devotees placed on the wooden step stool. Although it is located close to the mountain summit, clear water always flows from the stone water basin beneath the wooden duck, accompanied by the sound of water, creating a cozy and tranquil atmosphere.
On the left side of the L-shaped building is the kitchen, the central part is the Inbeopdang 인법당 人法堂(monk's residence and dharma hall) called Apgung- bogung 압곡보궁 鴨谷寶宮, and the protruding hall on the right is the Josajeon 조사전 祖師殿(Patriarchs’ hall). Except for the kitchen, a wooden step veranda(툇마루, toeutmaru) runs along the front of the building.
On both sides of the calligraphy signboard of Apgungbogung, two additional ones read Sayusu 사유수 思惟修(dhyāna, 禪, Seon) and Apgukam 압궁암 鴨宮庵. Beneath the signboards, there are four pillar couplets of calligraphic inscriptions. They are written in classical Chinese, and roughly translated, they imply the following.
Sitting silently through the quiet night in the mountain hall,
Many thoughts arise, yet none are worth clinging to.
Do not hold on to even the slightest attachment in the mind,
For the sensory objects and their consciousness are originally empty.
If you walk up the uphill path on the right of the temple for a short distance, you will be greeted by a scenic view along with two stupas and a pavilion. Next to the pavilion stands a stupa tomb called a Budo 부도, which enshrines the relics or remains of a revered monk.
