This interpretation is believed to have been forged in later times because Awashima (Tomogashima Island, on the opposite shore of Kada, Wakayama City) was a sharyo (territory of a shrine) of Sumiyoshi-taisha Shrine, but belief that 'Awashima no kami guards women because she is a goddess' remains strong.
これは、淡島（和歌山市加太の対岸の友ヶ島）が住吉大社の社領であったことから後世に附会されたものと考えられるが、「淡島神は女神だから女性を守る」という信仰も根強い。