Politically, they were more like "local officials under Kokushi" and their position was lower than Kokushi, however, since they were practically in charge of local administration including the tax collection and the execution of the punishment of minor criminals, it is recognized that the central government maintained the local ruling through Gunji who kept track of the local societies.
政治的側面としては、”国司の下の地方官”としての意味合いが強く、立場上は国司よりも下であったが、徴税や軽い刑罰の執行など地方行政の実務を執り行っていたために、律令制の地方支配は、中央政府が郡司による地方社会の把握を媒介として成立していたと評価されている。