According to one legend (in Kokurakita ward, Kitakyushu City), when he was exiled to Usa, he was saved by a boar from a difficult situation, and based on this legend, in those shrines such as Goo-jinja Shrine and Wake-jinja Shrine, a pair of 'shrine boars' (guardian boars) are placed instead of a pair of shrine dogs (a pair of stone-caved guardian dogs situated at the gate of a shrine).
なお、宇佐へ配流の際にイノシシによって難事を救われたとの伝説（北九州市小倉北区など）から、護王神社・和気神社などでは狛犬の代わりに「狛猪」が置かれている。