noun
Archaic/poetic noun for the area around a place. Not used in modern everyday speech.
古歌に「この辺に宿を借りむ」とある。
An old poem says, 'I will seek lodging in this vicinity.'
noun
Archaic/poetic noun for the seashore or coastal area. Rarely used independently in modern Japanese.
万葉集には「海辺」を「うみへ」と読む例がある。
In the Man'yōshū, there are examples where 海辺 is read as うみへ.
suffix
suffix indicating location, direction, time, etc.
Archaic suffix, often pronounced べ or え. Attaches to nouns to roughly indicate a place, direction, or time. Not productive in modern Japanese.
「海辺」の「辺」は、古い場所を示す接尾語の名残である。
The 辺 in 海辺 (うみべ) is a remnant of the old suffix indicating a place.
Modern common word for vicinity or neighborhood; 辺 (へ) is archaic and poetic.
Modern compound meaning seashore; the standalone へ for seashore is archaic.
The historical derivation is uncertain; 辺 and 方 are conventional kanji spellings for this archaic noun and suffix.