It has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List due to its traditional gasshō-zukuri houses, alongside nearby Shirakawa-gō in Gifu Prefecture.

[1] The survival of this traditional architectural style is attributed to the region's secluded location in the upper reaches of the Shōgawa river.

[3] The gasshō hamlet of Ainokura is located in Taira, while that of Suganuma is in Kamitaira;[3] both are nationally designated Historic Sites.

During the Edo period, the economy of Gokayama was based on Japanese paper, sericulture, and the production of saltpeter, which is the raw material for gunpowder.

The inhabitants of Suganuma hamlet also practiced rice cultivation using a small amount of land and slash-and-burn agriculture.