Maetsuka Kofun

The mound lies in the north of Takatsuki, on low ground just south of the Bentenyama hills. Parts of it have been levelled by land clearance, and a road laid along its south side cuts through the surrounding moat.

The mound is a keyhole shape with a short front part, which faces west. It measures 94 metres in length, and the round part has a diameter of 69 metres. The front part is 25 metres long and an estimated 25 metres wide. The moat follows the shape of the mound and is 16 metres wide on the round side and 10 metres wide on the front side, with an overall width of 10-17 metres. The total length of the monument including the moat is 120 metres. Fragments of cylindrical, canopy-shaped and house-shaped haniwa (clay figures) and traces of a stone covering have been found on the surface of the mound.

The design of the monument is said to resemble that of Banyama Kofun at Tsuchimuro in Takatsuki.

The structure of the burial chamber is not known. When the land was cleared in the Meiji period, a chest-shaped sarcophagus of tuff was found exposed, and grave goods are said to have come to light at the same time. The sarcophagus is about 2 metres long, about 0.6 metres wide and about 0.8 metres high. Its lid is of the inro type and semicylindrical in section, each side stone has one rope-hook projection, and triangular incised motifs appear on the front and rear ends where the projections are. A mirror, an iron sword and an iron spear are known among the grave goods, but no details are recorded. Several excavations have since been carried out around the mound.

On the evidence of the haniwa and the sarcophagus the mound is dated to about the fifth century, either the early fifth century or the middle to later fifth century. The catalogue gives a typological date range of 250 to 650 CE for the monument.