Gwancheondae Observatory was located south of Munjeongjeon Hall, the main hall of Changgyeonggung Palace. It was a government agency responsible for the observation of the movement of the sun, moon, stars, change of seasons, and the twenty-four solar terms, which were managed by the Meteorological Office (Gwansanggam).

According to the “Record of the Office of Astonomy and Geomancy”, Gwancheondae Obervatory was built in 1688 during the reign of King Sukjong. However, all the buildings at the site of Gwancheondae Observatory were demolished during the Japanese colonial period; instead, a zoo was built. In 1986, as the restoration project of Changgyeonggung Palace began, the zoo was relocated to the Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, and the site became an open plaza where only a stone stylobates remained with the name of Gwancheondae.

There are several rumors about what kind of device was placed there. One of them was pointing to a latitude-measuring instrument called the Soganuidae, which was used to observe the constellations at night. Another indicated a sundial called Ilyeongdae, which was used to keep track of the season and date.

Therefore, only the stone stylobate with five holes drilled in the granite remained in the Gwancheondae Observatory, which is presumed to be the one that has been used to place apparatus. Nevertheless, no one can ensure what instruments were placed on it.