This shrine was established in June 1180 by Taira Kiyomori when he moved the capital from Kyoto to what is now Kobe and established the Fukuhara-kyo, the seat of government. Kyoto’s Kitano Tenman-Gu was seen as protecting the Imperial Court against the inauspicious emanations from the northeast direction (鬼門) and its Kami, Sugawara Michizane, was enshrined through the kanjō process. 

The main structures of the shrine—the main and prayer halls, the torii, lanterns, and the stone stairway—were built in 1742 and were designated as part of a traditional architectures preservation district by the city of Kobe in 1985.