Takaoka, Toyama
The Nara period provincial capital and provincial temple were located in what is now the city of Takaoka, Toyama; however, there are four shrines which vie for the title of "Ichinomiya" two of which are located in Takaoka, one in the city of Nanto and one in the town of Tateyama. Under the "Engishiki" classification system, Etchū was ranked as a "superior country" (上国) in terms of importance and "middle country" (中国) in terms of distance from the capital. Despite this classification, Etchū never developed a powerful local "gōzoku" clan and was usually controlled by its more powerful neighbours.