Along with "iekazu jinba aratame-cho" (the survey register made per village in the Edo period on the number of houses, people, horses, and others), kenchi-cho functioned as the basic register for the feudal lord to rule the land and the people.
家数人馬改帳とともに封建領主が土地・人民を支配するための基本台帳としての役目を果たした。