As with rivers across the world, the Shinano provided a valuable means of transport. The system also provided a method of transport for goods to be moved downstream to one of three ports, Nutaru, Niigata and the provincial port of Kambara. Little evidence remains which details the importance or role of these ports; however, large amounts of Medieval Chinese artefacts have been found in the region and it is the setting of the Muromachi period play, Miuri, was set in Kambara indicating its regional significance.: There is limited evidence which has caused some historians (such as Shishi Tokamachi) to suggest that the Shinano system was not widely used for boat travel until the eighteenth century.: Brian Goldsmith, however, contends that the Shinano was, in fact, used for waterborne trade based on archaeological finds, including coin hoards and imported pottery, found in the headwaters of the Shinano.: One of the main inland roads in Honshu followed the Shinano valley inland to the Japanese Alps. The location of the road indicates that the river played a vital role in local trade. The Chikuma valley also provided a link across the island of Honshu.: