[3] The plant inhabits coastal areas and seashores below 100 meters, typically in soil found to be slightly acidic to mildly alkaline.

[4][3] P. japonicum can be found in the Chinese provinces of Fujian, Hong Kong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Taiwan and Zhejiang in addition to Japan, Korea and the Philippines.

[5] In Korean cuisine, the leaves of coastal hog fennel are used fresh as ssam vegetable (for hoe) or pickled in soy sauce and vinegar to make jangajji.

P. japonicum called chyou-mei-gusa, which translates to grass for longevity and is served in traditional Japanese dishes during shirayoi, the naming ceremony for a newborn, and yahnuyoi, celebration for the completion of a new house.

In ancient times, P. japonicum leaves and roots were used as a medicine treatment for patients with sore throat in the Ryukyu Islands.

In contrast to the Korean culinary uses listed above, the plant was considered in China to be medicinal but possibly deleterious to health and likely to cause delirium in those who consumed it in quantity: Fang k'uei, if taken in excess, makes one become delirious and act somewhat as though mad.

Taoist sage Tao Hongjing speaks of two kinds of fang-feng (which normally refers to Saposhnikovia in Chinese), noting : The root is spicy and non-poisonous.

However, as fang k'uei, P. japonicum is definitely used for medicinal as well as culinary purposes in China, where it is employed as an 'eliminative', diuretic, tussive, sedative and tonic.

Ming Dynasty pharmacologist Li Shizhen was likewise of the opinion that P. japonicum was, although medicinal, not toxic in itself, maintaining that the hallucinogenic properties of the drug were probably a result of its adulteration with material derived from Aconitum or Euphorbia species.