It was centered around Sadowara Castle in what is now the city of Miyazaki and was ruled by a cadet branch of the tozama daimyō Shimazu clan for all of its history.

In 1690, Korehisa had finally come of age, but according to the wishes of the shogunate, the kokudaka of the domain was reduced to 27,000 koku.

On June 7, 1839 (April 7, 1839), the 10th daimyō, Shimazu Tadatetsu, died suddenly at the Kusatsu-juku honjin (in present-day Kusatsu, Shiga) en route to Edo to fulfill his sankin-kōtai obligation.

As he had not yet appointed a successor, there was a strong possibility that the domain would face attainder, so his vassals kept the death a secret until permission was granted for the succession to be passed to his third son, Shimazu Tadahiro.

In the Bakumatsu period, Shimazu Tadahiro worked closely with Satsuma Domin, and in 1869, he was awarded 30,000 koku for his efforts in the fierce battles of the Boshin War.

Sadowara Domain had an unusual social structure created by the second daimyō, Shimazu Tadaoki.