Help with caring for an Arbutus Tree

Hello there, we just bought a property in nanaimo that has an Arbutus tree on it. The tree is about a foot in diameter. I notice that someone has covered the roots with stones/rocks, on top of the soil. I would like to remove these and expose some of the lovely colour of the roots. Will this damage the tree? Thank you for your help.

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Hi Ron here...

Can't imagine that moving rocks would hurt such a well established tree.

I wouldn't want to remove much soil though from the roots.

Arbutus Ron