What is the role of「の方」in「何県の方ですか」?


I'm very confused about the role of「の方」in「(あなたは) 何県の方ですか」. Based on what I
know,「の方」can either refer to a person or makes the noun「県」more polite.

If I interpret「の方」as a person, the question would mean "What prefecture person
you are?" I'm not sure if it makes sense in this context.

If it's a politeness marker, I think the whole question makes sense because it
would literally mean "What's your prefecture?"

Which of the two interpretations of「の方」is correct?




This 方【かた】 is an honorific version of 人. If you don't mind sounding a little
blunt, 何県の人ですか means the same thing. (の)方 as a polite (or "euphemistic")
filler is always read (の)ほう
([example](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/72923/5010)), and it has
nothing to do with this sentence.

X県の人 means "person from X Prefecture" or "person living in X Prefecture".
Thus, a literal translation of this would be "A person from what prefecture
are you?" or "What prefecture's person are you?". I know these are not
natural, but I don't think it's completely nonsensical, either (correct me if
I'm wrong).

