Kanan and the Kōno Kofun Group

If you are looking for an archaeological focus for a trip to Kanan, the Kōno Kofun Group offers several distinct points of interest. Four small round burial mounds lie on its eastern flank; at Kōno No. 2, a horizontal stone chamber is preserved up to the ceiling. The group is also located on a projecting hill at the entrance to the Hiraishi Valley. The exterior form of the tombs, the interior space, and the terrain thus provide three different ways to understand the site.

Four Round Burial Mounds on the Eastern Flank

Four small round burial mounds are concentrated on the eastern flank of the Kōno Kofun Group. Each is approximately 15 meters in diameter. This approximate measurement applies to each individual mound and does not indicate the extent of the group as a whole. The four mounds are therefore roughly similar in size. When comparing them with Kōno No. 2, it is important to note that the approximately 15 meters refers to the outside diameter of each round burial mound, not the interior of a chamber. This makes it possible to consider exterior form and chamber measurements as different scales.

The Stone Chamber of Kōno No. 2

At Kōno No. 2, attention turns to a horizontal stone chamber that is preserved up to the ceiling. It is 3.4 meters long, 1.6 meters wide, and 1.8 meters high. Its length is slightly more than twice its width; its height exceeds its width by 20 centimeters. These comparisons put the measurements in relation to one another, making the differences between length, width, and height easier to grasp. The measurements refer to the interior of the tomb.

The wall construction is also described in detail. The back wall consists of three courses of split granite; the side walls consist of three to four courses. While the back wall is described as having a fixed number of courses, the side walls are given a range. Together with the preservation of the chamber up to the ceiling, this provides a more precise picture of Kōno No. 2: the dimensions, material, wall construction, and state of preservation each describe a different aspect of the chamber.

Location in the Hiraishi Valley Terrain

The Kōno Kofun Group is located at the entrance to the Hiraishi Valley, on a hill projecting from the valley’s western end. Shishiyotsuka Kofun lies near the valley entrance, on a ridge immediately east of Tomb Kōno No. 7. Both descriptions refer to the valley entrance but identify different landmarks. For the group, it is the projecting hill at the western end of the valley; for Shishiyotsuka, it is the ridge and its position relative to Kōno No. 7. This distinction helps you keep the location descriptions separate without combining them into a single location.

A Thematic Connection to Late-Period Tombs

The Kōno Kofun Group is featured in the municipal series “Tekuteku Kanan” in a piece about visiting late-period tombs. The municipal guide material was published in 2014.

Discover more destinations: Minoo, Tannowa, Yamashiro, Toyonaka, Takaishi, Misaki, Ōsakasayama, Hirakata

For the broader travel overview: Osaka Prefecture.