The Katsura-gawa River was regularly used to transport wood from Tanba, Yamashiro, and Settsu, as in the case of the present-day Keihoku-cho in Ukyo Ward, which shipped its wood to Kyoto for the construction of the Heian-kyo.
平安京造営の時、現在の右京区京北町の木材を京都に運搬するなど、桂川の流れは丹波と山城、摂津の木材輸送によく用いられた。