Kumano-ko mochi was a custom of pounding mochi (rice cake) with an oak pounder at an inn or lodging, and presumably it was a custom which had been developed in the provinces of kanto-be and oshu-be by the members of Kumano-ko (religious associations of Kumano shrines) and later brought by them to Kumano, the home of Kumano-ko.
熊野講もちとは宿や宿坊で樫杵を使って数人でもちをつく習俗をいい、関東ベエ・奥州ベエが故郷で組織していた熊野講の習慣が持ち込まれたものであると考えられている。