FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Officials from Portsmouth, Ohio, deny any wrongdoing in a custody battle with Kentucky over an 8-ton rock.

The fight is over historic Indian Head Rock, which lay for years at the bottom of the Ohio River. Once a navigation marker, the rock has carvings of initials, names and a face.

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway filed the lawsuit earlier this month against the city; former Mayor Gregory A. Bauer; historian Steve Shaffer of Ironton; and David G. Vetter of Portsmouth. Conway is seeking the rock’s return to Kentucky and the cost of damages.

Attorney Lawrence Barbiere filed the response on behalf of Portsmouth and former Mayor Gregory A. Bauer on Tuesday.

The historic rock was once an attraction for locals. It had been submerged since about the 1920s until September, when Shaffer led a team to extract it.

The boulder now rests in a city garage in Portsmouth