Because the temples ranked under Gozan were mostly Buddhist temples of the Rinzai sect, the Gozanha are often taken as the Rinzai sect; however, the Daioha (Daio school), which in turn belonged to the Rinzai sect, wasn't subject to control by the Gozan system.
一般的に五山以下の寺格が与えられた寺院が臨済宗であったために「五山派＝臨済宗」と考えられがちであるが、実際には臨済宗でも大応派は五山の支配を受けなかった。