It was built by Hosokawa Tadaoki starting in 1602, with construction completed in 1608.

Matsumoto Seicho Memorial Museum and castle garden were opened in 1998.

The castle is about a ten-minute walk from JR Kyushu's Kokura Station.

The north side of the moat is next to the Riverwalk shopping complex (completed in 2003).

[3] An old Japanese-style pre-Brunton lighthouse from Shirasu (白洲) is on the castle grounds.