According to the ancient document History of Amanawa-ji Shinmei-gū kept by the shrine, the founder of the shrine is famous priest Gyōki; a powerful and rich man named Tokitada Someya supported the construction.
The shrine consists of two structures: the haiden or oratory in the front and the honden or sanctum at the back.
Both the oratory and the sanctum have hornlike crossing planks called chigi rising above the roof at both ends.
Also five short logs called katsuogi are placed at a right angle along the ridge of the roof.
As the old structures were destroyed by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, they were rebuilt in 1936.