Established in 1873, this park is Osaka's oldest. It's bustling year-round, with the spring Cherry Blossom Festival held under the blossoming cherry trees, the summer Sumiyoshi Festival (Summer Purification Ritual) at the neighboring Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, and New Year's hatsumode (first shrine visit of the year). Originally located within the grounds of Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, the park also housed the shrine's horse riding grounds. The current "Shiokake Road," running east-west through the center of the park, was also the main approach to Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine. The "Takatoro" (High Lantern), standing facing National Route 26, is said to be Japan's oldest lighthouse, erected as a votive offering to Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine in the late Kamakura period (the current lighthouse was restored in 1974). The sea once extended all the way to the west of the park, and the view in front of Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine facing this sea was nicknamed the "Sumiyoshi Pattern," a pristine landscape of white sand and green pines considered a quintessential example of beautiful Japanese scenery. It has been the subject of numerous poems and other scenic works. At the east entrance to the park, there is a monument bearing a haiku that Basho composed when he visited the Takara no Ichi ritual at Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine on September 13, 1694 (Genroku 7).