It was not strange that MINAMOTO no Suesada was appointed the commander to subjugate the same clan since his father and he had served Heike, however, according to another opinion, it was because Minamoto no Yoshitoki had organized the conspiracy against the life of MINAMOTO no Yoshitada, the great-grandfather of Suesada, or had been associated with the murder in some degree (considering that after the murder of MINAMOTO no Yoshitada, his brother Yoshitoki had aimed at the position of the leader of the Kawachi-Genji).
源季貞は父の代からの平家郎党であるということで平家方であったために、同族を討伐する大将になったともいえるが、一説には、源義時が源季貞の曽祖父にあたる源義忠の暗殺事件に荷担もしくは関係があったため（根拠：源義忠の暗殺後、弟の源義時は河内源氏の棟梁の地位を望んだ）といわれる。