Unlike the south-facing main halls of all other palaces, Myeongjeongjeon, the main hall of Changgyeonggung Palace faces east. With its energetic and well-balanced form, Myeongjeongjeon typifies the early Joseon architectural style. In most of the Joseon palaces, one reaches the main hall after walking through three sets of gates, but Changgyeonggung Palace has only two gates before the main hall. The purpose of having three gates is to protect the king from assassins. To compensate for this weakness, the main gates of Honghwamun (Gate) were not located in a straight line, but offset from Myeongjeongjeon so the king could not be targeted directly from outside.