Quite a few people, however, assert that he was a fictitious character created in the Edo period on grounds that what is said about him sounds like a legend since there exist no reliable historical records.
しかし確実な史料を欠きながらも伝説的な側面を備えていることから、羽田五郎を江戸時代に作られた伝説的人物と見る無きが強い。