His father Shimazu Yoshihiro had famously led a fighting retreat off of the battlefield and escaped with the bulk of his army intact back to Kyushu.

The previous center of Satsuma and the main stronghold of the Shimazu clan had been in the area of present-day Satsumasendai and Izumi, which were nearer to provincial border with Higo Province.

Shimazu Tadatsune therefore decided to relocate his stronghold further south, which was further away from potential invasion by the Tokugawa shogunate and protected by mountainous terrain.

The actual site was selected by geomancy and was protected by the Hegigawa River to the east, Satsuma Kaidō to the west, the Kinko Bay to the south, and Mount Shiroyama to the north.

The Kagoshima Prefectural Medical School and its affiliated hospital were established on the site of the second citadel in 1882, continuing under various names until it was relocated in 1974.