The temple belongs to the Tofuku-ji branch of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen and its honzon is a statue of Senju Kannon Bosatsu.

However, in 1600, the Mōri were defeated at the Battle of Sekigahara and most of their territory (including Aki Province) was seized by the victorious Tokugawa shogunate.

Jōei-ji was relocated to Chōshū Domain and was given the site of Kokusei-ji (国清寺), the bodaiji of Ōuchi Moriakira, the former rulers of Suō Province.

The temple had been given to the widow of Mōri Takamoto, and was renamed Myōjū-ji (妙寿寺), becoming Choon-ji (潮音寺) in 1863 and finally Jōei-ji in 1888.

In addition, the technique of erecting standing stones is also unique, and the appearance of the garden in the Muromachi period remains today.