It is said that this story may have been intentionally made up to emphasize Nobutaka's legitimacy as the head of the Oda family after Nobunaga's death, or to justify his having opposed Nobukatsu who was his older brother, and that he actually was born later than Nobukatsu.
本来兄の信孝が信雄よりも信長亡き後の織田家一門の筆頭に相応しいという正嫡性の強調のため、あるいは兄である信雄に逆らったことを正当化するための意図的な創作話ではないかといわれ、実際は信孝が信雄より後に生まれたのではないかといわれる。