한반도 최북단에 자리한 함경도는 조선을 건국한 太祖 李成桂(1335-1408, 재위 1392-1398)가 나고 자란 ‘豊沛之鄕’이었다. 따라서 개국 초부터 왕실의 권위를 높이기 위해 함경도의 왕실사적을 정비하기 시작했고, 특히 왕권 강화에 힘을 쏟았던 영조·정조 연간에 적극적으로 추진되었다. 또한 지역민들도 영세한 지역사를 극복하기 위해 왕실과의 인연을 부각시킴으로써 사적의 수가 점차 늘어났다. 왕실사적은 종류가 매우 다양해서 생가, 놀이터, 제단 등이 포함되었다. 무엇보다 이성계 관련 사적이 많고, 함흥과 영흥에 집중해서 몰려 있는 점도 특징이다. 한편 주요 사적이 17세기 후반 함경감사를 역임했던 南九萬이 ‘20景’을 선정해 제작한 관북명승도에 포함된 이후 19세기 말까지 꾸준히 재현되었다. 현존작은 公的인 목적의 王陵圖와 私的 주문으로 그려진 名勝圖 계열로 나누어지는데, 모두 정형화된 구성과 내용이 큰 변화 없이 계승되었다. 다만 작품의 성격과 제작시기, 주문자와 화가의 신분에 따라 양식과 완성도에서 차이를 확인할 수 있다.Hamgyeong province(咸鏡道) located at northernmost part of Korean Peninsula was the area where King Taejo, Yi Seonggye(李成桂, 1335-1408, r.1392-1398), who founded Joseon Kingdom, was born and grew up. For this reason, from the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty the historical sites of the royal family(王室史蹟) scattered here and there in Hamgyeong province had been designated in order to heighten authority of the royal family. In particular such effort was positively undertaken during the reign of King Yeongjo and King Jeongjo when strengthening of royal power was emphasized.
The number of the historical sites was increased as local residents stressed close relations between their local area and the royal family in order to overcome a lack of regional history. The historical sites of the royal family were very diverse in its types, including the house of birth, outing place and altars. It is most notable that many historical sites were related to Yi Seonggye and most of them were concentrated in Hamheung(咸興) and Yeongheung(永興).
Meanwhile, since Twenty Scenic Spots was chosen and included in the paintings of scenic spots of Gwanbuk(關北名勝圖) by Nam Gooman(南九萬, 1629-1711), who served as a provincial governor of Hamgyeong Province during latter half of 17th century, it had been represented continuously until end of the Joseon Dynasty. Currently existing works are divided into the paintings of royal tombs(王陵圖) which were painted for official purpose and the paintings of scenic sports(名勝圖) painted on private orders. They were passed on to posterity without any remarkable changes in its typified composition and contents. It could be, simply, ascertained that there were some differences in style and level of perfection depending on the character of the works, the age of the works, and the status of orderers and painters.