It is managed by Ōita Prefecture, and it is an 82.0 meter tall concrete arch dam.

It is the largest dam in the Gokase River drainage system, and it was built with government subsidies with the goal of flood control and hydroelectric power generation for the Kita River basin.

Despite that in 2005 it was selected by the Dam Waters Environment Development Center Foundation as one of the top one hundred reservoirs.

On the left bank of the reservoir is Japan National Route 326, the spot where the Nakadake River tributary flows into Kita River has a local folk song called "Ume no Utagenka", and the Utagenka Bridge located there is connected to that song, and in the vicinity of the bridge is the Ume Rest Area.

The vicinity of the dam is the natural habitat of the mountain hawk-eagle, and in 1981 the prefecture designated it as a protected wildlife area.