It is located to the north of Kobe city centre, at the foot of Mount Rokkō.

This station was newly built for the San'yō Shinkansen and is connected with the city center by the Kobe Municipal Subway.

[2] With the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR) on 1 April 1987, the station came under the control of JR West.

[2] On 17 January 1995, the station was affected by the Great Hanshin earthquake, with all services halted.

From the start of the revised timetable introduced on 1 October 2003, Shin-Kobe Station became a mandatory stopping point for all high-speed Shinkansen trains.