Liancourt Rocks dispute Japan. In 1954, Japan proposed a reference to the International Court of Justice, which South Korea rejected, believing that the Liancourt Rocks are irrefutably South Korean territories, and thus should not be dealt through diplomatic negotiations or judicial settlement between South Korea and Japan. There are conflicting interpretations about the historical state of sovereignty over the islets. Korean claims are partly based on references to a Korean island called "Usan-do" in various historical records, maps and encyclopedias such as the "Samguk Sagi", "Annals of the Joseon Dynasty", "Dongguk Yeoji Seungnam" (), and "Dongguk munheon bigo" (). According to the Korean
Between the Hills which resulted in separation of the underlying rocks of the Blue Ridge and Short Hill mountains, which were deposited during the Catoctin Formation of the late Proterozoic period and uplifted during the Grenville Orogeny. Reactivation of the fault during the Alleghenian Orogeny caused further separation of underlying rock deposited during the middle and late Paleozoic era. During the American Civil War, a Between the Hills resident, John Mobberly, gained notoriety as a Confederate guerrilla. During the last two years of the war, he successfully disputed control of the area through his daring exploits, until his assassination outside of Neersville in