The kami enshrined at Kagoshima-jingū are:[3] According to the shrine's legend, the Kagoshima Jingū during the Age of the Gods, as Takachiho Palace, the residence of Hikohohodemi no Mikoto (彦火火出見尊), the third and youngest son of Ninigi-no-Mikoto and Konohanasakuya-hime and ancestor of Emperor Jimmu.

Per the Hachiman Godokun (八幡愚童訓), when Ōhirume, the daughter of the great king of Chen, was seven years old, the light of the morning sun pierced her chest, and she became pregnant.

The Jusanzukabara (Thirteen Mounds) Historic Site Park derives its name from this legend and is located in the northeastern part of the area, near Kagoshima Airport.

The first mention of the shrine in reliable historical records is in the Engishiki, compiled during the reign of Emperor Daigo, which lists it as the only Shikinai Taisha in southern Kyushu (Hyuga, Osumi, and Satsuma).

During the Kenkyū era (1190 - 1199), the shrine's territory was over 2,500 chō, and it held estates with 1,000 koku until the end of the Edo period.

Ceramic shards from China and Southeast Asia have also been found in each of these locations, which were inhabited continuously from the mid-Heian period into modern times.