Since the Muromachi period, pilgrimages to the shrine became popular, and even today usually hundreds of visitors in a day climb the steps of Mount Zōzu.

[citation needed] The principal kami of the shrine is Ō-mono-nushi-no-mikoto, a spirit associated with seafaring (also referred to as the Buddhist deity Konpira).

Before the Meiji era, it was known as Konpira-Daigongen (金比羅大権現), and it stood at the head of the nationwide group of shrines bearing the names, Kompira and Kotohira.

[4] From 1871 through 1946, Kotohira was officially designated one of the kokuhei-chūsha (国幣中社), meaning that it stood in the mid-range of ranked, nationally significant shrines.

Kompira Shrine has several Important Cultural Properties, including a Heian period statue of the eleven-faced Kannon Bosatsu and four ink paintings by Maruyama Ōkyo.