In the ancient Shinto, it refers to the holy precincts or a world which is different from the real world and located beyond the mountains, the seas, woods, rivers, huge trees, or megalith such as himorogi (a temporarily erected sacred space or "altar" used as a locus of worship), iwakura (dwelling place of a god, usually in reference to a large rock), and so on where 'the aspect of the place' changes.
古神道などでは、神籬（ひもろぎ）・磐座（いわくら）などの「場の様相」の変わる山海や森林や河川や大木・巨岩の先にある現実世界と異なる世界や神域をいう。