The potential of the Ōi River valley for hydroelectric power development was realized by the Meiji government at the start of the 20th century.

From the 1930s through the 1960s, numerous concrete gravity dams had been constructed on the main flow of the Ōi River, and to its various tributary streams.

The Shiogō Dam was built in an area where the Ōi River made a number of turns over swift rapids.

The dam also reduced the amount of sand and silt reaching the mouth of the Ōi River, thus further contributing to shoreline erosion.

Legal efforts by local municipalities and landowners to recover water rights over the Ōi River and force the dismantling of the dam have consistently failed in courts.