In the ancient times, many emperors (tycoons) placed their hometowns (refer to the capitals in Japan) in the Nara Basin, and in this case, the port in what is currently Sakai City was connected with those hometowns by Nagao-kaido Road, Takeuchi-kaido Road, etc. bound for the city.
古代には、奈良盆地に天皇（大君）がその在所を置くことが多く（→日本の首都）、その場合には港にあたる現在の堺市に向かう長尾街道・竹内街道などで両者は結ばれていた。