adverb, noun
Dated adverbial or noun use meaning 'before now' or 'previously'. In modern Japanese, 以前 or 前に are more common.
前方に申し上げた通り、その計画は中止となりました。
As I mentioned previously, that plan has been canceled.
noun
Dated noun meaning the front or forward direction. Now usually expressed as 前 or 前方(ぜんぽう).
彼は前方を見つめたまま動かなかった。
He stared ahead and did not move.
na-adjective
Dated adjectival noun describing a person or idea as immature or unsophisticated. Rare in modern usage.
彼の考え方はまだ前方だ。
His way of thinking is still immature.
Compound of 前 (mae, 'front') and 方 (kata, 'direction'). The reading まえかた is now dated, while the same kanji are commonly read ぜんぽう in modern Japanese.