Early in 1336, a number of Kyūshū clans, anticipating the movements of the shōgun's army against them, made efforts to unite and present a formidable resistance.

[2] Shōgun Ashikaga Takauji, arriving in Munakata, a short distance away, at this time in early April, learned of the siege of Dazaifu and the death of Shōni Sadatsune.

Gathering forces, he marched from Munakata on April 15, and journeyed to Tatarahama, fifteen miles (24 km) away, where he met the Kikuchi clan army.

[2] The military chronicle Baishō-ron describes Tatarahama as "a stretch of over three miles (5 km) of dry foreshore, crossed at the south end by a small stream.

To the south lies the city of Hakata, on the east five or six miles distant is hilly country, and to the west is the open sea stretching as far as China.