During the Edo period, Konoike Zen'emon Munetoshi III, a wealthy Osaka merchant, undertook the diversion of the Yamato River and the development of new farmland (shinden), developing new fields across the country. Among these, Konoike Shinden, developed in 1705 (the second year of the Hoei era), was the largest, covering approximately 200 hectares. Built in 1707 (the fourth year of the Hoei era), the Konoike Shinden Kaisho office collected rent from the shinden farmers and paid annual taxes to the shogunate, maintained and repaired the fields, waterways, and bridges within the shinden, compiled resident registers (equivalent to today's resident cards), provided filial rice (equivalent to today's pensions) to the elderly, and even communicated messages from the shogunate and the Konoike family to farmers, mediated disputes, and performed other functions similar to those of a modern-day city hall or police station. The strolling garden with Mt. Ikoma as a backdrop, and the bookstore/rice storehouse (a nationally designated important cultural property), which evoke the atmosphere of the time, have been used as locations for period dramas, and even today, special exhibitions and lectures are occasionally held here.