【Designated by the City：Historic Site】Shimajiri Motojima and Nnaka-ga

It is said that the Shimajiri-Motojima was the origin of the present Shimajiri settlement. This Motojima is known for its five ceremonies held through October to December of the lunar calendar to celebrate the ancestors of the island. It is not clear where the ancestors of this Motojima came from or when they started to live here. Up until the end of the Second World War, there were six or seven households that lived here, but presently, they have all left the Motojima, and only empty houses remain.
There are piled stone walls surrounding the side where the Motojima faces towards the coast, and there is an entrance/exit facing the south-southwest. There was an arched gate with piled stones at the entrance/exit up until immediately after the war. There are no wells or springs within the Motojima, but about 20m to the south, there is a Nnakaga well that is believed to have been used by the former residents of this Motojima. At the bottom of the cliffs to the north, there is a shell mound. From the findings of Miyako-style earthenware, celadon, Chinese pottery pieces and the like, it is believed that the residents of the Motojima used these ceramics.

Presently, there are numerous theories on when people began to live on Miyako Island, and this Motojima is believed to hold a clue to finding the answer to this debate.