However, there is a strong possibility that the above espionage theory was made up in later ages in view of the facts that the stuffed and baked crucian carp was a local specialty of Omi Province and that the Takashina clan which appeared at the end of the anecdote was a descendant of Prince Takechi (Takechi no Miko).
しかし、鮒の包み焼きが近江の名物であったことや、話の最後に登場する高階氏が高市皇子の後裔であることから、スパイ説は後世の人間による創作の可能性が極めて高い。