The castle was originally built in 1330, by Ōtomo Sadatoshi, Constable (shugo) of Bungo Province, as a show of support to the Tachibana clan.

[2] Since it was in a tactically powerful location, looking down upon the port town of Hakata, the castle was fought over throughout the Sengoku period by the Ōtomo, Ōuchi, and Mōri clans.

They abandoned it soon afterwards, however, following a defeat at Tatarahama to an allied Ōtomo-Amago clan force.

Soon after, Toyotomi Hideyoshi would arrive and launch his Kyūshū Campaign, which he would also gain the assistance of the Ōtomo.

A little over a decade later, at the beginning of the Edo period, Tachibana was largely destroyed and dismantled, much of the stone going into the construction of Fukuoka Castle.