A deity of sun, Amaterasu Omikami, ordered her grandson, Nigihayahi no Mikoto, to rule Nakatsu no Kuni in Toyoashihara which allegedly meant Japan. Nigihayahi no Mikoto and his attendants departed from the port of the air using a stone boat called “Ama no Iwafune”. It is said that Nigihayahi arrived at Takerugamine in Kawachi no Kuni and headed to Nakatsu no Kuni (currently Nara). The stone boat is now enshrined as the Iwafune Shrine.
