The 5 mountain reliquaries: riddle, solution and the exact spins

One per region. Spinning one fox spins another, and the Teshio Ridge one cannot even be started without fire arrows. Here is each riddle with its solution and the shortest spin sequence.

Completing them unlocksChild of the Mountain trophyChild of the MountainBronze50.59%
The EveryTrophy team3 min readPublished on 25/08/2026Updated on 25/08/2026Covers 1 of the 62 trophies

Save before you touch the first fox

There are five mountain reliquaries, one in each main region, and story progress opens all of them. They mark themselves on the map as you approach. Nothing is missable.

Each is a stone pillar with four fox statues around it that you can spin. The riddle is written on the pillar itself, and the solution is always to leave the foxes facing something: the pillar, the mountain, or the fire burning below.

Two things worth knowing before you start:

On three of the five, spinning one statue also spins another. That is not a bug, that is the puzzle. Spin by eye and you will go round in circles without ever squaring all four. Save before interacting with the first statue at each reliquary: then, if you tangle it, you reload and apply the short sequence below from the starting position.

The Teshio Ridge one cannot even be started without fire arrows. The statues are buried in snow and you have to melt it by shooting the coals underneath. That needs the upgraded Hankyu Bow, bought and upgraded from Ran, the bowyer at Red Crane Inn. Climb all the way up the mountain without it and you climbed for nothing.

Key

All five together also give the fully upgraded Mount Yōtei charm — it reduces all damage taken — plus a hat, a mask and a weapon kit. One of the best-value collectible sets in the game: five puzzles.

All five, riddle by riddle

The spin sequences below start from the initial position, with nothing touched. If you have already spun statues, reload your save before applying them.

The four statues are named by their place as you face the pillar: front-left, front-right, back-left and back-right.

RegionWhat it wantsShortest sequence
Yotei GrasslandsAll four foxes facing Mount Yōtei, to the west: the tall snow-capped mountain visible in front of the reliquary. All four the same way.No catch: each fox spins independently.
Ishikari PlainThe three statues with red demon masks facing away from the shrine, toward the fire below. The maskless statue facing the pillar.Never touch the maskless fox. Front-left ×1 → back-left ×2 → front-left ×1 → front-right ×2.
Tokachi RangeAll four foxes facing the pillar in the middle. Careful: not the mountain in the distance, which is what the riddle seems to ask for.Front-left ×1 → back-left ×2 → front-left ×1 → front-right ×2 → back-right ×2.
Teshio RidgeFirst, fire arrows at the base of all four statues to melt the snow; there are fire arrows right in front of the pillar, at the gap you squeezed through. Then, all four foxes facing the pillar in the middle.Same as Tokachi: front-left ×1 → back-left ×2 → front-left ×1 → front-right ×2 → back-right ×2.
Oshima CoastAll four foxes facing Mount Yōtei in the distance, to the north-east: toward the cliff where a fifth, far-off statue stands. You cannot reach that one, but it spins on its own as you move the others.Middle statue ×1 → right statue ×1 → middle statue ×2.
Key

The Tokachi Range one trips up the most people, because the riddle talks about looking "toward the mountain" while the foxes have to face the pillar. If you tried the mountain and it will not solve, the sequence is not wrong: the direction is.

The trophies involved

Each one links to its section inside the full Ghost of Yōtei trophy guide.

Child of the MountainBronze50.59%
Solve all Mountain Reliquary puzzles.
Original name: Child of the Mountain

Other Ghost of Yōtei guides

Altars of Reflection: the skills that lock three Ghost of Yōtei trophies
Three combat trophies are impossible until you unlock specific skills at the altars. Here is the list and the order.
The three collectibles that stall the Ghost of Yōtei platinum
Sumi-e, puzzle boxes and special places. All three sit around 44%, barely above the platinum: they are the last ones to fall.
New Game+ and Legends: the 8 Ghost of Yōtei trophies that do not count
Eight of the 62 trophies are DLC and fall outside the platinum. Among them, the two rarest in the game.
The 12 Nine Tails' puzzle boxes: where they are and how to open them
All twelve are in Teshio Ridge. Here are the twelve locations, the four fox-statue puzzles that open the hidden camps, and the move-by-move solution to every box.
The 11 fox dens, and why the trophy does not pop when you finish them
Eleven dens, eleven charms, and a final step almost nobody sees coming: the mask does not come from the dens, but from a woman at Sanctuary Grove behind a statue puzzle.
The 8 shamisen songs: the collectible to do first
Each song is a collectible detector. Getting them before anything else turns the game's three hundred-odd pieces into following an arrow. Here are all eight, including the one that comes down to chance.
The 8 zeni hajiki tables and why your counter falls short
Eight tables, eight charms. If your counter reads 6 of 8 and you swear you played them all, you are not missing a table: you are missing second wins.
Weapons are not bought, they are learned: the master tales are the catalogue
Take Aim and Quick Draw share almost the same percentage because they are the same content: every weapon comes from a master tale and there is no other route. Thirteen gear and combat trophies.
Two of the tales ask for two masters, not one: that is why they get lost
The Way of the Ōdachi starts on its own during another tale, and anyone who does not know a second master is missing ends up halfway. Ten sensei and side tales, plus the minigame almost nobody finds.
From 99.90% to 66.45%: the story takes a third of all players with it
The campaign's nine trophies are all progression except one, which is a choice you can get wrong. The order of the hunt, which side content to fold into each region, and where people drop off.
Four Legends trophies that do not count towards the platinum, and the map work that does
For the Living is the game's longest map job and one of only two silvers outside the sensei tales. The four Legends trophies, by contrast, can be left alone without touching the platinum.