By the middle of Muromachi period, the Shibata were the most powerful of the "Agekitashu", a group of local petty lords who were mostly independent due to their distance from the provincial capital at Jōetsu.

Lured by promised by Oda Nobunaga, Shibata Shigeie (1547–1587) revolted against Kagekatsu, but was defeated after a fierce seven year war, and the clan was destroyed.

Hidekatsu had originally been a retainer of Niwa Nagahide, but after his death pledged fealty directly to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

As the Mizoguchi clan had only limited resources, the construction processed very slowly, and was not completed until the rule of the 3rd generation daimyō of Shibata Domain, Mizobuchi Nobunao, in 1654.

The current Omotemon (表門) main gate dates from a 1732 reconstruction and is the oldest surviving structure of the castle.

The inner bailey of the castle is a pentagonal area approximately 100 meters in length, surrounded by tall wall and roughly follows the outlines of the original Shibata clan fortification.

The majority of the secondary and the inner baileys are occupied by a Japan Ground Self Defense Force base and public access is not permitted.