doronoki, a Populus species, birches, and mizunara, a species of oak. Ōnuma is home to watershields, carp, and wakasagi, a species of smelt used in Japanese cuisine. Neighboring municipalities The coast of Uchiura Bay forms the northern border of Mori. The town is bordered by five other municipalities by land: Hokuto and Nanae make up the town's broad southern border, Shikabe and Yakumo make up its short eastern and western borders respectively. Mori shares a border with Assabu to the southwest, high in the Oshima Mountain Range. Oshima Subprefecture Shikabe Hokuto Nanae Yakumo Hiyama Subprefecture Assabu Climate History Mori was settled early in Japanese history as evidenced by the Jōmon-period archaeological sites now designated as the Washinoki Site. The town was settled by the Japanese in the 15th century. The settlement, like many other coastal areas of Hokkaido, was established as a Pacific herring fishing base. Fishermen operating out of Hakodate noted the richness of herring in the Mori area, and soon established a base in Mori. The base became the village of Washinoki, and was administered as part of Hakodate. Kōbō Abe (1836 – 1908), a samurai and naval commander of the Tokugawa shogunate, lost the capitol at Edo to forces loyal to the Meiji Emperor as 1868 as part of the Boshin War (1868 – 1869). Enomoto fled from Edo and landed his fleet of eight steam warships, the remainder of the Tokugawa Navy, a Washinoki en route to establishing a base at Hakodate. The present-day town of Mori became part of Enomoto's Republic of Ezo. Enomoto and the republic were soon defeated in the Naval Battle of Hakodate (1869), and all of Hokkaido, including the villages of Mori, came under the rule of the central Japanese government. Mori was incorporated as a town in 1921. A great fire broke out in the town in 1961 and half of Mori was burned, with 554 homes destroyed . The town of Sawara (from Kayabe District) was merged into Mori on April 1, 2005. Economy The fishing industry of Mori focuses on the aquaculture of scallops. The volcanic ash from Mount Komagatake has created a rich soil for fruit and vegetable production in Mori. The town is noted for its production of melons, tomatoes, pumpkins and prunes. Sawara is noted for its production of blueberries and at the town's Michi No Eki, you can sample blueberry jam and ice cream.