Hida Kokubun-ji Temple (the provincial temple of Hida province), located in Sowa Town, Takayama City, has a huge ginkgo tree and a three-story pagoda. In the precincts, there are some structures including a shoro-mon (gate with a bell tower), which is said to have been relocated from Takayama Castle.

The main hall, which is a national important cultural property, was constructed in the Muromachi Period. Situated on the east side of the hondo (main hall) is the central base stone of the pagoda surrounded by a tamagaki (fence). Hida Kokubun-ji Temple is said to have been completed by 757 by Imperial command in 741, and this central base stone is presumed to be the one used at the time of the founding of the temple. With an almost square shape, the base stone is a mortising type base stone with a circular pillar seat created on the upper surface with a circular hole at the center. The base stone is made of rhyolite, which is locally called “Matsukura stone.”

The fact that the ancient Kokubun-ji Temple and kondo (golden hall) of Kokubunni-ji Temple have been identified has contributed to the clarification of the history of Hida in the Nara Period.