During the Meiwa era, Teikan TO (also called Sadamoto FUJIWARA, or mistakenly Sadamoto FUJII) saw the monument, and taking "Todaiji Yoroku" (literally, Digest Record of Todai-ji Temple) into consideration, he identified it as the Empress Genmei's inscribed monument that used to stand at her mausoleum.
それを明和年間、藤貞幹（藤原貞幹、誤伝により藤井貞幹）が見て「東大寺要録」を参酌して元明天皇陵刻字之碑を考定した。