In the fourteenth century the Ezo group was divided into Watari-to (Oshima Peninsula in Hokkaido, the predecessor of the Matsumae domain in modern history), Hinomoto (the Pacific Ocean side of Hokkaido (local public entity) and Chishima (Kurile Islands), or Higashi-Ezo in modern history), Karako (the Sea of Japan side of Hokkaido and Sakhalin, or Nishi-Ezo in modern history); and a record stating that Watari-to could communicate with Japanese and conducted trade with people in Honshu is seen in one document (Suwa Daimyojin Ekotoba).
14世紀には、「渡党」（北海道渡島半島。近世の松前藩の前身）、「日の本」（北海道(地方公共団体)太平洋側と千島。近世の東蝦夷）、「唐子」（北海道日本海側と樺太。近世の西蝦夷）に分かれ、渡党は和人と言葉が通じ、本州との交易に従事したという文献（『諏訪大明神絵詞』）が残っている。