[4] The island is 19 km (12 mi) from the coast of South Hwanghae Province in North Korea.
[citation needed] It is theorized that Daecheongdo was first inhabited during the Neolithic Age (9500–4500 BC).
There are definite signs of habitation from the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), during which time the island was used as a place of exile for criminals.
The Chinese Emperor Toghon Temür (1320–1370) was exiled there by the Mongol Yuan dynasty for conspiring in a plot arranged by his stepmother.
The island was generally uninhabited until 1793, when King Jeongjo, of the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897), imported farmers to cultivate the land.