Still wearing his armor, Masakado continued to evade Sadamori, wandering about from place to place, and though he tried to assemble an army for a counterattack, due to the unfavorable circumstances, he was unable to gather as many men as he'd anticipated, so he led a mere 400 men to his camp in Kitayama, Sashima-gun County, and waited for reinforcements from his allies.
当の将門は身に甲冑をつけたまま貞盛らの探索をかわしながら諸処を転々とし、反撃に向けて兵を召集するが形勢が悪くて思うように集まらないために攻撃に転ずることもままならず、僅か手勢400を率いて幸嶋郡の北山に陣をしいて味方の援軍を待つ。