The roots of the Abe clan have not been clarified, but according to the family tradition that the Abe clan passed down in the "Hiraizumi Zakki" (Miscellaneous notes on Hiraizumi), their earliest ancestor was Abihiko, the older brother of Nagasunehiko, the king of the Kinai region (provinces surrounding Kyoto and Nara) who had been killed by Emperor Jinmu, and the Abe clan originated when Abihiko fled to Tsugaru.
そのルーツは明らかでなく、『平泉雑記』が伝える安倍氏自身の家伝によれば、神武天皇に殺された畿内の王長脛彦の兄安日彦をその始祖とし、安日彦の津軽亡命をもって安倍氏の発祥としている。