The ruins of a great temple from the Hakuhō period; the stone shibi excavated here is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property, one of only three surviving examples in Japan.
At roughly the same time as the Nara capital (Heijō-kyō) flourished, in the latter half of the 7th century (the Hakuhō period), a large temple stood in the Ōtono district at the foot of Mt. Daisen. Excavations have uncovered the central foundation stone of the pagoda and the remains of a main hall and covered corridors, remnants that testify to the power of local clans of the era. The site corresponds to the present-day grounds of Fukuju-ji temple.
The stone shibi (sekisei-shibi) excavated here is a decorative ridge ornament that once adorned the temple roof, serving as a talisman against fire — the ancestor of the shachihoko (killer-whale ornaments) seen on Japanese castles. Stone shibi survive in only three locations across all of Japan, and this example has been designated a nationally Important Cultural Property. It is the reason Hōki-chō calls itself 'The Town of the Shibi.'
For more detail, see the Ōdera Haiji article in 'Stories from History.'