Located centrally between the Nagao-kaido and Takenouchi-kaido highways, the shrine grounds are located at the site of the ruins of the 18th Japanese emperor's palace. According to the Kojiki - the oldest existing Japanese historical text - a palace once stood on these grounds. They were the location of the last capital of the Kawachi Dynasty. Scholars say the Kawachi Dynasty was a peaceful time marked by abundant harvests of grains where people lived in happy abundance. With a number of place names in the area such as Mt. Gokuden ("extravagant palace") alluding to the existence of an ancient capital, the region has been designated as holding a high distribution of Buried Cultural Properties in the area.