Because his name was recorded in historical materials in 1331 as 'Hyoenojo KUSUNOKI of Akuto' at wa-wakamatsu-sho in the territory of Rinsen-ji Temple, he is considered to have been a member of a powerful clan that was called 'Akuto' and worked in distribution of quicksilver and others in the area around Kawachi, which was not registered in the record of lower-ranking vassal of the Kamakura shogunate 'Gokenin cho' by Kamakura shogunate.
元弘元年（1331年）臨川寺領和若松荘「悪党楠木兵衛尉」として史料に名を残しており、鎌倉幕府の御家人帳にない河内を中心に付近一帯の水銀などの流通ルートで活動する「悪党」とよばれる豪族であったと考えられている。