한국고대사에서 고조선의 이동은 재난과 그 재난에 대한 피난 활동이었다.
고조선은 전국 연의 침공을 받아 오늘날 하북 노령현 일대에서 오늘날 요하바로 동쪽으로 그 중심지를 이동하였으며, 중원을 통일한 진의 침공을 받아재차 그 중심지를 동쪽으로 이동할 수밖에 없었다. 이에 고조선이 최종적으로왕험성에 도읍을 하였던 것이다.
학계는 중국 당나라 사람이 고조선의 왕험성을 고구려의 평양성과 동일 지역에 위치하였다고 보는 인식에 기초하고, “평양에 도읍을 두었는데, 장안성이라고도 한다”는 중국 사서의 기록에 근거하여, 왕험성의 위치를 오늘날의 평양지역에 비정하고 있다.
하지만 낙랑군의 존속하였던 시기에 처음 축성된(247년) 평양성은 낙랑군이 물러난 이후에 증축되었으나(334년), 수도가 되고(427년) 수도가 장안성으로 옮겨질 때까지도(586년) 그 위치를 옮긴 적이 없었다. 북위 사람 역도원이 고구려 사신으로부터 직접 들은 정보에 근거한 515~524년경의 기록에따르면, 왕험성이 위치한 고구려의 평양성과 낙랑군 조선현은 동일 지역이 아니라, 浿水를 따라 각각 동과 서에 위치하였다고 한다. 따라서 고조선의 도읍왕험성, 고구려의 수도 평양성, 낙랑군의 치소 조선현은 오늘날 평양지역에위치하였을 가능성이 없다.
오늘날 평양지역에서 발굴된 고구려의 長安城은 중국 사서에 언급된 平壤 城?國內城?漢城 3京의 하나인 漢城일 가능성이 크다. 漢城은 중국 사서에 보이는 반면에 우리 사서에는 축성에 관한 내용이 확인되지 않는 반면, 長安城 의 축성 내용은 확인된다. 게다가 漢城은 國名, 長安城은 漢의 도읍명이라는관계도 주목해야 한다.
When the Zhou Dynasty declined, the Lord of the Yan State called himself the king, and intended to expand the territory to the east, where Gojoseon was located. Joseon’s Hou (marquis), a descendant of Jizi, also called himself the king and conspired to attack the Yan State to dignify the Zhou royal family. However, Joseon’s Hou took the advice of Li, a minister, and abandoned the conspiracy. Then, Joseon’s Hou sent Li as an envoy to the Yan State to make a compromise that the Lord of the Yan State should call himself the king and the ruler of Gojoseon should keep the position of Hou, and this led to the Yan State’s quitting the eastern expansion policy.
The Warring State of Yan, which was in the heyday, ordered General Qin Kai to invade Gojoseon on the pretext that the descendant of Joseon Hou was arrogant and tyrannical. As a result, the Yan State occupied the land equivalent to approximately 2,000 li (7,854,000 m) in the western region of Gojoseon, and dispatched the administrator to the region and built a fortress. Thus, Gojoseon of Jizi, which was located in the present Lulong County of Hebei province, moved east of the Manpanhan area, which was newly bordered with the Yan State. Prior to this, the Yan State ordered General Qin Kai to invade Donghu in the east and occupied the land equivalent to approximately 1,000 li (3,927,000 m). The Yan State established five counties ? Shanggu County, Yuyang County, Youbeiping County, Liaohsi County and Liaotung County ? in the land taken from Donghu and Gojoseon, and built a long fortress wall. Among the five counties, Liaohsi County and Liaotung County were established in the land equivalent to approximately 2,000 li (7,854,000 m) taken from Gojoseon, and Liaotung County adjoined the western region of Manpanhan, which was located west of the QianShan mountain range.
In the process of unifying China, the Qin Dynasty invaded Jicheng, the capital of the Yan State, and the king of the Yan State fled to Liaotung.
The Qin Dynasty even attacked Liaotung and destroyed the Yan Dynasty.
Further, the Qin Dynasty invaded and destroyed Gojoseon, and built the outer fortress of Liaotung on the newly occupied land and annexed Gojoseon. Thus, the fortress that the Yan State built to manage the boundary with Gojoseon were no longer useful.
After the Han Dynasty replaced the Qin Dynasty, it abandoned the outer fortress of Liaotung which was built during the Qin Dynasty, because it was far apart and thus difficult to maintain. Then, the Han Dynasty repaired the old fortress built by the Yan State, and bordered Gojoseon on Pei Creek in the east. As a result, the land occupied by the Qin Dynasty, which ranged from Pei Creek in the west to the outer fortress of Liaotung in the east, became an area that does not belong to any country. Thus, in the chaotic period from the late Qin dynasty to the early Han dynasty, the people of the Warring States of Yan, Qi and Zhao fled to the area and began to reside there. Wiman, a relatively late migrant, led as many as a thousand people and came to Gojoseon. King Junwang of Gojoseon gave him a position of the learned man and ordered him to defend the western frontier of Gojoseon. Afterwards, Wiman launched a coup d'etat to oust King Junwang, and became the king of Wanggeomseong.
The location of Wanggeomseong, the capital city of Gojoseon, later became home to Pyongyangseong of Goguryeo, which is different from the Janganseong of Goguryeo called Pyongyangseong today. Goguryeo occupied Hanseong area of Baekje and built a castle, which was called Hanseong.
Hanseong was called Janganseong after the capital was transferred. At the time when Pyongyangseong was built, Lelang commandery was located in Gojoseon, so it could not be located in the same area as Joseon Prefecture, which was the governing place of Lelang commandery. The sources and mouths of Pei Creek and Lie River belonged to Lelang commandery of the Pre-Han period, which the Han Dynasty established after destroying Gojoseon, and they were outside the territory of Lelang commandery since the Three Kingdom era. Then, Pyongyangseong was built in the north of Pei Creek, and Lelang commandery was located in the west.