晉齊梁皇帝出行儀仗中的「合函」或「作函」程式是鹵簿制度吸收戰陣技術的結果。「作函」與劉宋軍隊使用的「函箱陣」原理相同，源於胡（騎）漢（步）戰争中為應對敵軍突擊和掩護己方人員物資長途移動而使用的營壘戰陣。這種陣法在漢匈戰争中業已成型，至晉南朝沿用不衰。北朝軍隊亦以「方陣」營壘對戰突厥。大業三年（607）隋煬帝（569-618, 604-618在位）出巡北邊，聽取南朝降將建議，在隋軍「方陣」的技術基礎上製作「行城」，既保持北朝以來君主出行儀仗中的遊牧式「行殿」，又吸收兩晉南朝鹵簿的「作函」，演繹成一套兼容胡漢與南北制度的鹵簿新制。

Notwithstanding that the organization and system of the Southern and Northern Armies did not become fully institutionalized, the practice of assigning royal relatives or senior ministers of civil or military titles to command garrison troops stationed around the Weiyang and Changle palaces can be marked as the origin of the court generals system that emerged under the eras of the Emperor Zhao (r. 87-74 BCE) and Emperor Xuan (r. 74-48 BCE). Although the incorporation of the expeditionary commands into the standing Imperial Guard system began with Emperor Wu’s (r. 141-87 BCE) creation of various commandant posts, yet its actual initiation was the Southern and Northern Armies in the early Han Dynasty. Therefore, examining the institutional history of the Southern and Northern armies during the early Han period provides valuable insights into the evolution of the Imperial Guard system of the Han Dynasties.