In modern times, the area was earmarked for economic development by the Meiji government, which hired Dutch oyatoi gaikokujin civil engineer Anthonie Rouwenhorst Mulder (1848–1901) to redesign and rebuilt the port facilities along western lines.

Immigration facilities were established in 1925, and the port was officially opened for foreign trade by the Home Ministry in 1928.

Regularly scheduled container services to Southeast Asia began in 1994, to Korea and the United States in 1998, and to China in 1999.

In 2001, the Hattaro Refrigerated Warehouse was completed, furnishing the Port of Hachinohe with a temperature control and humidification system for storage of agricultural products.

Hachinohe is a major fishing port, with 142,000 tons of seafood products landed in 2004, the fourth largest volume in Japan.