It is said that although the Hozu-gawa River was a meandering, raging torrent and there were innumerable huge rocks in the river, the waterway was completed in five months by manually removing rocks and blasting them with gunpowder so that Takasebune boats were able to navigate the waters.
保津川は蛇行を繰り返す激流で大きな岩が無数にあったが、人力で引っ張ったり火薬を使って発破作業を行ったりしながら、高瀬舟の通れる水路を約5か月で完成させたという。