Ishiyama was a low hill located at the northern end of the Uemachi Plateau, rising above the point where the Yodo-gawa River and the former Yamato-gawa river met, and close to where the port of Watanabe-no-tsu, which was the hub of water traffic along the Yodo-gawa Water System and on the Seto Inland Sea, and the departure point for land traffic to Sumiyoshi, Sakai, and Kishu, was established.
石山は上町台地の北端にある小高い丘で、真下で淀川と旧大和川が合流し、その付近に淀川水系や瀬戸内海の水運の拠点で、住吉や堺、紀州に向かう陸上交通の起点でもある渡辺津が形成されていた。