His title Geoseo-khan (거서간; 居西干) or Geoseul-han (거슬한; 居瑟邯), means "Emperor" or "king" in the language of the Jinhan confederacy, the group of chiefdoms in the southeast of the Korean Peninsula.

居 geo, a Chinese character that means "live, dwell, reside, sit," is used to transcribe the Korean prenominal adjective inflection ㄴ -n ~ 은 -eun "~ that is (bright/red), ~ which is (bright/red)."

Refugees of Gojoseon lived in the valleys of present-day Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, in six villages called Yangsan (양산촌; 楊山村), Goheo (고허촌; 高墟村), Jinji (진지촌; 珍支村), Daesu (대수촌; 大樹村), Gari (가리촌;; 加利村), and Goya (고야촌;; 高耶村).

In the forest, at a well called Najeong at Yangsan, a strange light shone from the sky (some accounts describe the simultaneous rising of the sun and moon, as well as a volcanic eruption), and a white horse descended.

This legend reflects developments in the city-state stage, the six chieftains representing a loose group of Gojoseon refugees.

Archaeological evidence, however, paints a different picture, and it is suspected that Goguryeo is the oldest of the three kingdoms, with Silla developing either concurrently with Baekje or after it.

According to the Samguk sagi, Hyeokgeose and his queen traveled the realm in 41 BC, helping the people improve their harvests.

In 5 BC, East Okjeo (a small state to the north, later conquered by Goguryeo) sent an emissary, and Hyeokgeose presented him with 20 horses.

One of them being his numerous descendants, the Park clans of Korea, who are numbered as the third largest group of people with a common last name.