The southernmost keyhole mound on Honshu (~45m mound length), located in Nachikatsuura Town, Wakayama Prefecture. National Historic Site. The Agency for Cultural Affairs places it in the Early Kofun period. Its pit-style stone chamber yielded large jasper tubular beads and other items.
Finds & research
Jasper tubular beads (including thick-type beads), glass beads, iron sword fragments, a jasper plaque, and Haji ware.
Official status & archaeological view
Official status
Designated a National Historic Site.
Archaeological view
~60m long including the outer ditch. Rear circle 22–25m dia., ~2.5m high. Located in Shimosato, Nachikatsuura Town, Higashimuro District, Wakayama Prefecture. Burial facility is a pit-style stone chamber (5.35m long, 4.75m inner). In a commemorative lecture published by the Nachikatsuura Town Cultural Association, Seike Akira of Okayama University suggests that the mound was built as the local power in Nachikatsuura formed ties with the Yamato polity by cooperating in its maritime expansion and defense.