By the merger, some ujigami (a guardian god or spirit of a particular place in the Shinto religion) were transferred far away from the residential area of shrine parishioners who couldn't visit the shrine anymore.
ところによっては合祀で氏神が居住地からはほど遠い場所に移されて、氏子が氏神参拝に行くことができなくなった地域もある。