It was the headquarters of Kaga Domain, ruled by the Maeda clan for 14 generations from the Sengoku period until the coming of the Meiji Restoration in 1871.

During the late Muromachi period, the Ikkō-ikki, followers of the teachings of priest Rennyo, of the Jōdo Shinshū sect, displaced the official governors of Kaga Province, the Togashi clan, and established a kind of theocratic republic later known as "The Peasants' Kingdom".

Backed by high hills and flanked on two sides by rivers, it was a natural fortress, around which a castle town developed.

He was subsequently awarded with the province as his fief and started work on the moats and the layout of the surrounding castle town; however, he sided with Shibata Katsuie after the assassination of Nobunaga and was defeated by the forces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, led by Maeda Toshiie in the Battle of Shizugatake of 1583.

Following the Meiji restoration, the castle site was turned over to the Imperial Japanese Army in 1871 and served as headquarters of its 9th Division.

Surviving structures include the Ishikawa Gate (built in 1788), the Sanjukken Nagaya and the Tsurumaru Storehouse all of which are designed Important Cultural Properties.

[6] For further protection, the castle grounds were split into nine enclosures divided with earthen ramparts, stone walls and fortified gates, surrounding the main bailey where the Maeda clan had their residence.