noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'
inscription; epitaph; epigraph
Refers to text carved or engraved on a stone monument, tombstone, or similar surface. Can be used as a noun or with の to modify another noun.
An old inscription is carved on this stone monument.
Deciphering the content of the inscription is difficult.
The poet's words are carved into the stone monument as an inscription.
An ancient inscription still survives at this ruin.
An expert read the inscription and deciphered its meaning.
墓碑銘 refers narrowly to an epitaph on a gravestone, while 碑文 is the broader term for any inscription on a stone monument.
碑文 is the everyday word for an inscription on a monument, whereas 金石 in this sense is a literary term that stresses the metal-or-stone material itself.
碑文 refers to the text inscribed on a monument, while 碑（いしぶみ）refers to the physical stone monument itself.
epigraphy
Compound of 碑 (stone monument) and 文 (writing, text). The reading ひぶん is the standard on'yomi combination.