Originally suggesting a bulwark against the advance of evil because of the hardness of rock, "shih-kan-tang" has since become a form of description in the local language.
石敢當，原以石頭堅硬不可摧，衍生出足以抵擋一切不祥、不善力量之意，流行廣久，在琉球也成為一種形容詞。