That is, a shintai means the place or object where the god resides or descends, (was enshrined, lives in secret, or exists) and also known as a mitamashiro (spirit replacement) or a yorishiro (object representative of a divine spirit, object to which a spirit is drawn or summoned, object or animal occupied by a kami).
いわゆる御霊代（みたましろ）・依り代（よりしろ）といわれる神の宿る降りる（鎮座する・隠れ住まう・居る）場所や物である。