As the event would spread sparks from the torches, it was held on a riverbank as a precaution against fire; this also acted as a landmark to guide souls to this world by lighting up the surface of the river for those who were coming back from the dark higan, or the other world, across Sanzu-no-kawa (Sanzu River).
松明の火の粉も飛び火の用心から川べりで行われたが、あの世である暗い彼岸から三途の川を渡ってこの世に帰ってくる川面を照らす道案内や目印の意味合いがある。