Ishigami Kofun
Climb to a preserved seventh-century mound above the Yoshino valley and read its long stone chamber through finds linked to both Yamato and the Kinokawa region.
Verified site photographs are being prepared.Discover Ishigami Kofun
Ishigami Kofun stands on a hill that survived a golf-course development which reshaped the surrounding Oiwa ridge. The town records a circular mound about 22.5 metres wide and a south-facing chamber roughly 10 metres long. Its architecture resembles the Yamato basin, while Yoshino River stone and a decorated Sue vessel connect the burial to wider exchange routes. The burial's owner is not known by name; the town's account interprets the person as a powerful local leader connected with routes north, south and west. The steep approach and barriers around the mound mark the limits of a visit: follow the signed path and do not open or enter the chamber.
A mound preserved on a changed hillside
The Oiwa ridge held a group of burials before golf-course construction in the 1980s. The town's excavation account describes several mounds and later reuse of some chambers; most of that landscape is now difficult to read because the land was developed. Ishigami remains as a visible, protected mound at about 280 metres above sea level. Nara Prefecture's designation schedule names the historic site as Ishigami Kofun with Oiwa No. 2 Kofun attached (石神古墳 附 大岩2号墳), designated on 30 March 2012. That formal designation does not mean that every associated mound has a separate visitor approach or that visitors may leave the signed path. Approach Ishigami as one surviving monument within a much larger archaeological landscape, not as an isolated hilltop built for tourism.
Look for the difference between mound and chamber
The mound is about 22.5 metres across and 4.3 metres high. Its horizontal chamber opens south and measures about 10 metres overall: the inner room is approximately 4.2 metres long, with a passage roughly 5.8 metres long. The town describes the walls as naturally shaped granite blocks laid in courses and levelled on their inner faces. This is a substantial late example of a horizontal chamber in the Yoshino area. The town dates the group and finds to the seventh century; its account places Ishigami's decorated Sue ware around the middle of that century.
Read the finds as clues to Yoshino's connections
Excavation recovered coffin material made from green schist from the Yoshino River, iron fittings and a decorated Sue vessel called a child-bearing stand. The vessel's unusual form is more often associated with tombs in the lower Kinokawa basin, while the chamber design has close Yamato parallels. The town interprets this combination as evidence of a local leader involved in exchange and transport between Yoshino, the Kinokawa corridor and the Asuka-centred polity. That is an archaeological interpretation of the evidence; no inscription identifies the person buried here.
Read Ishigami within the wider Oiwa burial ground
Ooyodo Town says a rescue excavation carried out in 1985–86 ahead of golf-course construction documented more than one phase of use on the ridge. Oiwa No. 4 was built in the late sixth century; Ishigami (Oiwa No. 1) and No. 5 followed in the seventh century. The town also reports later reuse of some stone chambers for burials from antiquity through the Muromachi period. This sequence explains why Ishigami is one surviving monument within a changed archaeological landscape, not the whole Oiwa group. It does not mean that the other mounds or the golf-course grounds are open visitor sites.
Follow the marked climb and leave the chamber closed
Ooyodo Town describes a signed approach north from Ooyodo Park Golf Course, followed by about ten minutes on a steep slope. Its cultural-property list names Nara Royal Golf Club as owner and notes a visitor path and explanatory sign. The published visitor information does not authorize entry into the chamber. Do not climb the mound, bypass a barrier or open the chamber door. Check current signs and ask the town or land manager before setting out if access conditions are unclear.
What to look for
A south-facing stone chamber about 10 metres long
A rare decorated Sue vessel and coffin material from the Yoshino River
A surviving mound whose architecture and finds point to different regional connections
Photo notes
The reviewed official pages do not state a visitor photography policy for the mound or chamber. Photograph only from the public path, obey signs and barriers, and ask the land manager before commercial photography.
Make a day of it
Explore guides close to this map point, then check the actual route before travelling. Distances below are straight lines, not walking distances or travel times; map points may not be entrances.
Sources & editorial status
Original MyNara draft based on the linked sources. Sources reviewed 24 October 2026. Opening arrangements, prices and offers may change; use the operator's current information before travelling.
- Oyodo Town — Oiwa Kofun Group / Ishigami Kofun (history, dimensions, finds and approach)
- Oyodo Town — designated cultural properties (owner and visitor-path information)
- Oyodo Town — April 2012 community guide (historical bus-stop and parking directions; reconfirm current conditions)
- Oyodo Town — Yodori Bus information (page updated 7 September 2026; links to the currently published timetable, dated April 2024)
- Nara Prefecture — Ishigami Kofun designation record
- Oyodo Town — 2023 Cultural Heritage Preservation and Utilization Plan, designation name and archaeological context