The is the site of the remains of an ancient settlement on

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an ...

. Located in the Iha district of

Uruma City is a city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The modern city of Uruma was established on April 1, 2005, when the cities of Gushikawa and Ishikawa were merged with the towns of Katsuren and Yonashiro (both from Nakagami District). As of ...

, south of Ishikawa, the site sits on a large limestone fault slope, and dates from the late Shellmound period of Okinawan archaeology, coinciding with the late

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...

, c. 2500 – 1000 BC. The shell mound is approximately thick and covers an area of . The site was first discovered in 1920 by Ōyama Kashiwa, confirming that Okinawa was settled by ancient peoples, and is one of only a few fully excavated shell mounds in Okinawa. The site includes remains of fish and animal bones, earthen and stoneware, and goods made out of horn.

References

Ryukyu Islands {{Asia-archaeology-stub