The enshrined deity, Kamo Taketsunumi no mikoto in Shimogamo-jinja Shrine is an incarnation of yatagarasu, and he guided the Emperor Jinmu by turning himself into a golden kite (also called yatagarasu) under the ordinance of Amaterasu Omikami (the Sun Goddess) and Takamimusubi at the time of Jimmu tosei (the first generation of the Imperial family).
下鴨神社の祭神賀茂建角身命は八咫烏の化身であり、神武東征に際し太陽神天照大神とタカミムスビの令をうけ、金鵄（金色のトビ。八咫烏とも）に化身して神武天皇を先導したという。