Well this is a mystery wrapped in a riddle for me. I was schooled that "forty and four" referred to a 'Kanaka compass' (the luopan or Feng Shui instrument) and had never questioned it until now.

Depending on the type and period it would have had the four seasonal points and forty concentric rings. Some had five cardinal points based on the elements.

And now all these years later I can find not a thing on the Interwebs to back up the family legend. Go figure.