[1] The shrine is notable because it contains no sacred images or objects, since it is believed to serve Mount Miwa, the mountain on which it stands.

[4] Ōmiwa Shrine's history is closely related to Mount Miwa and the religious practices surrounding the mountain.

[6] In 965, Emperor Murakami ordered that Imperial messengers be sent to report important events to the guardian kami of Japan.

[8] From 1871 through 1946, Ōmiwa was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha (官幣大社), meaning that it stood in the first rank among government supported shrines.

According to the chronicle Nihon Shoki, Emperor Sujin appealed to Mount Miwa's kami when Japan was crippled by plague.

He then demanded that the rites be led by Ōtataneko [ja], his half-kami, half-human son born from the union with a woman of the Miwa clan.

[10] For example, the sessha Ikuhi jinja enshrines the kami who was appointed Ōmiwa's sake brewer in the 4th month of the 8th year of the reign of Emperor Sujin.

[4] The shrine also has a great shime torii, an ancient form of gate made only with two posts and a rope called shimenawa.