Kanji of the Week: 阪, or 坂？

Double feature! Nope I wasn't forgetting about this bit I am doing weekly no sire.

Anyways, anybody who has talked to me for any extent of time knows of my love for Osaka: I have been living there for a year, I've made a lot of friends who still live there or around Kansai (or uh, close enough like in Chuubu). Food's great, people are great, Denden Town is over there. Fantastic place. I could never get tired of it.

Now of course I recognize 阪 on sight. I have seen it a thousand times and I will see it ten thousand more in my life. But 坂... I mean it's exactly the same meaning, right? Same readings. Same everything.

大阪

Osaka. 新大阪 is a station I've been a million times. Speaking of the train...

大阪環状線

Osaka Loop Line I've also used this one a lot. There's one stop in Kyobashi, after all!

坂

Slope, hill. Ok that's just the kanji. You are using the kanji alone. What's with that? Welllllllll there aren't that many words with it! Most of them are proper nouns and use the other one. Well, except for 坂東 (the old name for Kanto) and some others.

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All of this to say I don't see 坂 that often. Apparently they are interchangeable after all, so it shouldn't be an issue, but from my vague knowledge of the thing you should see 坂 more often as slope, as said above. And while investigating, it seems there's one theory that they changed it to 阪 in Osaka's name due to the other one being 反 and 土, which would be kinda like "Opposing the earth". How true this is I have no idea, it sounds too silly. Then again, sillier things have happened...