Fujiwara Hidehira was a powerful warlord who lived in the northern part of Japan. He and his wife/concubine(the customs of marriage were different in 12th century Japan) traveled to Kumano. Fujiwara Hidehira was in the area of Chichi-Iwa when his wife went into labor and gave birth to a baby boy. It was the custom of the time for women not to visit shrines or temple after childbirth as new mothes were considered impure. However, a god of Kumano who appeared in a dream to Hidehira urged Hidehira and his partner to continue on. The couple left their newborn baby at Chichi-Iwa in the shelter of a rock. On return from their pilgrimage they discovered their baby in good health. The baby was protected by wolves and nurtured on water (milk) flowing from the rocks of Chichi-Iwa.

The gods of Kumano are not concerned with impurities, and they protect travelers. Hidehira returned to the north. His son was beheaded in 1189. Hidehira and his son's mummified remains are still interred at Chuson-ji Temple in Iwate Prefecture.