Izasa'ō: The King Of All Deers
This folktale is from Yasutomi Town [安富町] (Himeji City [姫路市], Hyōgo Prefecture) about Izasa'ō [伊佐々王] of Mt. Anji [安志山] (below) who's said to be a 6 m tall stag with bamboo leaves growing from its back, paddles on its hooves, and a pair of horns with seven branches each. Even a mere mention of its name is said to have struck fear in the local's heart.
About 1200 years ago, Izasa'ō descended from the mountain to reek havoc in the nearby villages with its other numerous deers under its command. As time went by, Izasa'ō rampage grew more and more severe to the point villagers began fleeing left and right. Upon hearing this trouble, the Emperor dispatched all the strongest warriors from the Country of Harima [播磨国] (Southwest Hyōgo Prefecture) to Mt. Anji in order to subdue this beast.
The warriors of Harima fought bravery, but struggle to defeat Izasa'ō at first. Eventually, after deploying multiple scorched earth tactics against Izasa'ō by logging trees and burning forests, they finally managed to inflict a fatal blow to the monster.
With its last remaining strength, Izasa'ō went berserk which caused the earth to shatter and debris to flow. Once it stopped, the warriors of Harima cried out in unison: "Vanish! At this instance!"
Alas, Izasa'ō perished on top of a rock.
When the warriors exited from the mountain with the news of defeating Izasa'ō, the villagers cheered with joy and hailed them as heroes. Henceforth, the place became to be known as Anji [安志] which means "comfort". Meanwhile, the spot where Izasa'ō lay dead became to be known as Shika-ga-tsubo [鹿ヶ壺] (below) where the pool is believed to be bottomless.
(Source)