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Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock
The Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fund Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities, or “turns over” its portfolio.  A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account.  These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance.  During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 133% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 133.00%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading EXAMPLE
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of this Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that you reinvest all dividends and distributions, that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same.
Expense Example by, Year, Caption [Text] rr_ExpenseExampleByYearCaption Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on those assumptions, your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal Investment Strategy
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock
The Fund may invest in any company whose securities are listed on a U.S. national securities exchange and in any foreign company through American Depositary Receipts or other types of depositary receipts, which are U.S. dollar-denominated securities of foreign issuers listed on U.S. national securities exchanges.  The Fund invests in growth-oriented common stocks by utilizing a quantitative formula known as the Cornerstone Growth Strategy® (the “Growth Strategy”). Generally, a majority of the companies selected by the Growth Strategy are small-cap companies (companies with market capitalizations under $1 billion), but the Growth Strategy may also select medium-cap companies (companies with market capitalizations of $1 billion to $8 billion) and large-cap companies (companies with market capitalizations in excess of $8 billion). From the universe of stocks of companies in the S&P Capital IQ Database with market capitalizations exceeding $175 million, the Growth Strategy identifies the 50 common stocks with the highest one-year price appreciation as of the date of purchase that also meet the following criteria:

 
1)
Price-to-sales ratio below 1.5

   
The Growth Strategy uses sales as its value criterion because sales figures are more difficult for a company to manipulate than earnings and frequently provide a clearer picture of a company’s potential value.

 
2)
Annual earnings that are higher than the previous year
     
   
The Growth Strategy considers improved earnings to be a key indicator of a company’s financial strength.
     
 
3)
Positive stock price appreciation over the past three-month and six-month periods
     
   
The Growth Strategy considers stock price appreciation because it is often associated with positive fundamentals, such as strong growth or improving profitability.

The Fund purchases these 50 stocks weighted equally by dollar amount, with 2% of the portfolio’s assets invested in each. Using the Growth Strategy, the universe of stocks is re-screened and the portfolio is rebalanced annually, generally in the winter. Stocks meeting the Growth Strategy’s criteria not currently in the portfolio are purchased, and stocks that no longer meet the criteria are sold.

Holdings of all stocks in the Fund that continue to meet the criteria are appropriately increased or decreased to result in an equal 2% weighting.  Also, on a monthly basis, the Fund may elect to re-screen the universe of stocks and replace the lowest-performing stocks in the portfolio with up to five new stocks as dictated by the Growth Strategy.  If it does so, in addition to selling the lowest-performing stocks, the Fund will sell a portion of each of the remaining stocks in its portfolio on a pro rata basis so that it can purchase each of the new stocks to constitute 2% of its assets.

As of January 31, 2019, the average and median market capitalization of the stocks held by the Fund were $11.2 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock
As with any security, there are market and investment risks associated with your investment in the Fund. The value of your investment will fluctuate over time, and it is possible to lose money. The principal risks of investing in the Fund include the following:

Market and Equity Investments Risk: The market value of a security may move up or down, and these fluctuations may cause a security to be worth more or less than the price originally paid for it. Market risk may affect a single company, an industry, a sector of the economy, or the market as a whole.  The value of equity securities will fluctuate due to many factors, including the past and predicted earnings of the issuer, the quality of the issuer’s management, general market conditions, forecasts for the issuer’s industry, and the value of the issuer’s assets.

Formula Investing Risk: The Fund will adhere to the Growth Strategy during the course of the year, subject to applicable Securities and Exchange Commission requirements and federal tax requirements relating to mutual funds, regardless of any adverse developments that may arise. This could result in substantial losses to the Fund if, for example, the stocks selected for the Fund in a given year are experiencing financial difficulty or are out of favor with investors.

Small-Sized and Medium-Sized Companies Risk: The Fund invests in small-sized and medium-sized companies, which may have more limited liquidity and greater price volatility than larger, more established companies. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, and financial resources, and their management may be dependent on a limited number of key individuals.

Foreign Securities Risk: The Fund may invest in foreign companies. There are specific risks associated with investing in foreign companies not typically associated with investing in domestic companies. Risks include fluctuations in the exchange rates of foreign currencies, which may affect the U.S. dollar value of a security, and the possibility of substantial price volatility or reduced liquidity as a result of political and economic instability or policy and legislative changes in the foreign country. Further, foreign companies may be subject to significantly higher levels of taxation than U.S. companies, including potentially confiscatory levels of taxation, thereby reducing the earnings potential of such foreign companies. Substantial withholding taxes may apply to distributions from foreign companies.

Growth and Value Investing Risk: Growth and value securities may perform differently from the market as a whole and may be out of favor with investors for periods of time. Growth securities typically are very sensitive to market movements because their market prices tend to reflect future expectations. When it appears those expectations will not be met, the prices of growth securities typically fall. Value securities may remain undervalued, their undervaluation may become more severe, or their perceived undervaluation may actually represent their intrinsic value.

High Portfolio Turnover Risk:  High portfolio turnover will produce higher transaction costs (such as brokerage commissions and dealer markups) that the Fund must pay, thus reducing the Fund’s performance. High portfolio turnover may also result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney The value of your investment will fluctuate over time, and it is possible to lose money.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance Information
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock
The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five, and ten years compare with those of indices that reflect broad measures of market performance, the Russell 2000® Index and the S&P 500® Index. For additional information on these indices, please see “Descriptions of Indices” on page 69 of this Prospectus. The Fund is the successor to the Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund, a series of Hennessy Mutual Funds, Inc. (the “Predecessor Growth Fund”). The performance information provided for the periods on or prior to February 28, 2014, is historical information for the Predecessor Growth Fund, which had the same investment adviser and the same investment objective and investment strategy as the Fund. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future performance. Performance may be higher or lower in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.hennessyfunds.com.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five, and ten years compare with those of indices that reflect broad measures of market performance, the Russell 2000® Index and the S&P 500 Index.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.hennessyfunds.com
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of future performance.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading HENNESSY CORNERSTONE GROWTH FUND CALENDAR YEAR TOTAL RETURNS OF INVESTOR SHARES
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock
For the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 23.23% for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, and the lowest quarterly return was -29.48% for the quarter ended September 30, 2011.
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel highest quarterly return
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Mar. 31, 2012
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 23.23%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel lowest quarterly return
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (29.48%)
Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes [Text] rr_IndexNoDeductionForFeesExpensesTaxes (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate The after-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual stated federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred Actual after-tax returns depend on an individual investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Performance Table One Class of after Tax Shown [Text] rr_PerformanceTableOneClassOfAfterTaxShown After-tax returns are shown for Investor Class shares only, and after-tax returns for Institutional Class shares will vary.
Performance Table Explanation after Tax Higher rr_PerformanceTableExplanationAfterTaxHigher The Fund’s “return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares” may be higher than its “returns before taxes” or “returns after taxes on distributions” because it may include a tax benefit due to the capital losses generated by the sale of Fund shares.
Performance Table Narrative rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock
Performance of the Fund’s Institutional Class shares differs from that of the Fund’s Investor Class shares because the share classes have different expenses.
Performance Table Closing [Text Block] rr_PerformanceTableClosingTextBlock
The after-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual stated federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an individual investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown for Investor Class shares only, and after-tax returns for Institutional Class shares will vary.  The Fund’s “return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares” may be higher than its “returns before taxes” or “returns after taxes on distributions” because it may include a tax benefit due to the capital losses generated by the sale of Fund shares.
Caption rr_AverageAnnualReturnCaption AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (for the periods ended December 31, 2018)
Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund | Russell 2000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Label rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel Russell 2000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (11.01%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 4.41%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 11.97%
Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund | S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Label rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (4.38%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 8.49%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 13.12%
Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund | Investor Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment) rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.74%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.15%
Shareholder Servicing rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.10%
Remaining Other Expenses rr_Component3OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.31%
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.41%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.30%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 132
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 412
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 713
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,568
Annual Return 2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 10.29%
Annual Return 2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 11.50%
Annual Return 2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 (10.78%)
Annual Return 2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 30.31%
Annual Return 2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 35.89%
Annual Return 2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 13.82%
Annual Return 2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 (1.09%)
Annual Return 2016 rr_AnnualReturn2016 8.37%
Annual Return 2017 rr_AnnualReturn2017 16.60%
Annual Return 2018 rr_AnnualReturn2018 (21.22%)
Label rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund - Investor Return before taxes
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (21.22%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.31%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 8.09%
Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund | Investor Class | After Taxes on Distributions  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Label rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund - Investor Return after taxes on distributions
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (22.89%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 1.86%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.86%
Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund | Investor Class | After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Label rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund - Investor Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (11.21%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 1.80%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 6.63%
Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund | Institutional Class  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
SHAREHOLDER FEES (fees paid directly from your investment) rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.74%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Shareholder Servicing rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets none
Remaining Other Expenses rr_Component3OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.22%
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.22%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.96%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 98
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 306
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 531
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,178
Label rr_AverageAnnualReturnLabel Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund - Institutional Return before taxes
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (20.91%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.60%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 8.44%