[1] The station is adjacent to Hatabu Switchyard of Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) Hatabu Station is served by the JR West San'yō Main Line, and is located 524.6 kilometers from the terminus of the line at Kobe.

It is also the nominal western terminus of the JR West San'in Main Line, and is located 673.8 kilometers from the opposing terminus of that line at Kyoto; however all San'in Main Line trains continue further 3.5 kilometers to terminate at Shimonoseki The station consists of two raised island platforms connected to the station building via a footbridge.

The station was moved to its present location on 19 November 1928, per a route change of the San'yō Main Line between Chōfu and Shimonoseki.

With the privatization of the Japan National Railway (JNR) on 1 April 1987, the station came under the aegis of the West Japan railway Company (JR West).

Hatabu Miyanoshita-cho, where the station is located, is located at the southern end of the Yamanoda area, one of the central areas of Shimonoseki City, and is an educational district where many high schools are located, Media related to Hatabu Station at Wikimedia Commons Freight Branch Line (Abandoned in 1942) : Shimonoseki - Shimonosekikō