Since the then highway (present National Highway 168) along the main stream of Totsu-kawa River which was at the center of the disaster collapsed drastically, the runners used Kohechi to report the disaster promptly to the county office which was located in Gojo City at that time, and people used the road as a rescue route as well.
この際、災害の中心地であった十津川本流沿いの幹線道路（今日の国道168号に相当する）の崩壊が著しかったため、当時五條市にあった郡役所への急報が小辺路伝いに届けられただけでなく、救援ルートとしても用いられた。