[8] Per Japanese census data,[10] the population of Mooka has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.

During the Edo Period, much of the area was tenryō territory under direct control of the Tokugawa Shogunate or various hatamoto.

Towards the end of the Edo Period, the daimyō of Odawara, Ōkubo Tadazane attempted to develop waste land with the assistance of Ninomiya Sontoku.

The town on Mooka was established within Tsuga District, Tochigi on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system.

[11] Mooka has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city assembly of 21 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Tochigi 4th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.