Archaic term for a fortress surrounded by walls, moats, or palisades. Not used in modern Japanese; encountered only in historical texts or place names.
Old documents record that a fortress was built on top of the mountain.
Standard kanji for this archaic term; the character itself means 'fence' or 'palisade', but here it refers to a fortress.
Alternate kanji form; 城 is usually read しろ or じょう, so this reading is highly specialized and archaic.
The reading き is an ancient Japanese word for a fortified place. The kanji 柵 (fence, palisade) was applied to represent the defensive structures, while 城 (castle) is a later alternate spelling. The exact derivation is uncertain.