Chogen transported cut-down trees by utilizing pulleys and rafts while creating civil infrastructures by clearing paths and installing weirs ("Todai-ji zoryu kuyoki" [Records of the Service to Celebrate the Construction of Todai-ji Temple]).
重源は、道を切開き川に堰を設けるなど社会基盤を整備しつつ、轆轤や筏の工夫で伐採し運び出した（『東大寺造立供養記』）。