Mausoleums built from the Nara to the early Heian periods include graves of emperors (e.g. Emperor Shomu) whose bodies were buried, graves with burial mounds (Emperor Kanmu), graves of emperors in later periods (Empress Jito) whose bodies were cremated due to the influence of Buddhism and graves of cremated emperors that were built without large-scale construction work (Emperors Saga and Junna).
奈良時代から平安時代初頭にかけての天皇陵は、土葬される例（聖武天皇）や、墳丘を作ったと思われる事例（桓武天皇）を経て、仏教思想の影響により、火葬の導入（持統天皇）や火葬後に散骨して大規模な造営を行わない事例（嵯峨天皇、淳和天皇）などが見られるようになる。