According to folklore, the Taira clan, which was defeated in Jisho-Juei no ran (Jisho-Juei War), settled in Gokanosho (Yatsushiro-City), and the Kamakura bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) sent samurai warriors such as Kajiwara clan and Dohi clan to the next village, Itsuki Mura, to live there as a means of keeping tabs on the activities of the Taira clan.
伝承によれば、治承寿永の戦いに敗れた平氏一族が五家荘（八代市）に定着したので、鎌倉幕府は梶原氏や土肥氏など東国の武士を送って隣の五木村に住まわせ、平氏の動向を監視させたという。