Onishibetsu

...The area faces the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to the east, and is served by the Tenpoku Line Transfer Bus (Soya Bus) that runs to the neighboring city of Wakkanai to the northwest. The town office is located in the northern village of Onishibetsu. The place name means "entrance to the marshland" in Ainu, and the characters "Sarufutsu" were used in the public announcement of the establishment of six villages in Soya County in 1878.

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "Onishiwake" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…東はオホーツク海に面し，北西隣の稚内市に至る天北線転換バス(宗谷バス)が通じる。役場の所在する集落は北部の鬼志別（おにしべつ）。地名はアイヌ語で〈湿原の入口〉の意で，1878年宗谷郡6村設定の公示で〈猿払〉の文字が当てられた。…

※「鬼志別」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報