Gwaebul paintings fundamentally illustrate Shakyamuni Buddha preaching at the Vulture Peak in diverse iconographic forms.

Among these gwaebul paintings, those with only a single figure depict a solitary image of Shakyamuni Buddha in the center of a composition. In most examples, Shakyamuni is shown standing. The Shakyamuni Buddha Gwaebul at Jungnimsa Temple (1622), the earliest known gwaebul, is the sole example of a seated image of Shakyamuni.

Iconography featuring multiple figures mainly presents Shakyamuni Buddha with two, four, six, or eight attendants. A triad type consists of Shakyamuni flanked by the attending Bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra. In some cases, a pentad is created by inserting Shakyamuni’s disciples Kasyapa and Ananda with their hands clasped in prayer inside the triad. In other cases, Prabhutaratna Buddha and Amitabha Buddha have been added to this composition to the left and right of Shakyamuni. In examples with eight attendants, Shakyamuni is flanked by Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas, and around his head halo are Prabhutaratna and Amitabha Buddhas, Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattvas, and Kasyapa and Ananda. This is a visual representation of deities essential for the yeongsanjae (Vulture Peak rituals).

A group-image iconography depicts Shakyamuni Buddha preaching his sermon to his disciples at Vulture Peak and thus includes a number of Shakyamuni’s subordinates. The main Buddha in the center is flanked by Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas. The triad is accompanied by Eight Great Bodhisattvas, Ten Disciples, Four Heavenly Kings, and Eight Great Vajra-beings in the upper and lower sections of a composition, representing the massive Vulture Peak Assembly.

Iconography of a multi-Buddha assembly shows Shakyamuni Buddha and other Buddhas that exist in different times, realms, and Buddha-lands, including the Buddhas of the Three Realms, Buddhas of the Three Bodies (trikaya), Assembly of the Three Buddhas, and Assembly of the Five Buddhas. This type is characterized by the arrangement of Shakyamuni Buddha and other Buddhas of the same standing (Amitabha, Bhaisajyaguru, Rocana, and Vairocana) arranged in a row or an inverted triangle with Shakyamuni in the center and other Buddhas of the same standing seen on a smaller scale in the upper portion.

In addition, there are gwaebul with unique iconography in which a Buddha appears wearing a crown and with his body ornately adorned. Two types of gwaebul paintings feature such an image: Rocana Buddha preaching immediately after realizing the truth and Shakyamuni Buddha holding a lotus flower spray at the Vulture Peak Assembly.