Moreover, in addition to the Taibon sankajo, the three great duties (of answering the call to guard Kyoto, and of hunting down traitors and assassins) required of the gokenin (lower retainers) during the Kamakura period, the shugo were also tasked with protecting the rice fields from those who sought to avoid tax by harvesting rice illegally, and as time passed the rightful owners of the estates could no longer dare refuse to hire a shugo for their lands.
また、鎌倉時代の御家人の3大義務であった大犯三ヶ条（大番催促、謀反人・殺害人の検断）に加えて、刈田狼藉の取締も守護の役務となり、荘園領主は守護の立入を拒むことができなくなった。