Toro is notable as the first archaeological site excavated in Japan in which remains of 1st-century CE Yayoi-era wet-rice paddy fields were found.

[2] The site was discovered in 1943 during construction work on a military munitions plant in World War II, and was excavated in 1947 and 1948.

Twelve pit-houses were excavated but as the archaeologists were not able to establish the boundaries of the original Yayoi settlement, the true size of the village is unknown and may have been much larger.

[9][page needed] Approximately 30 rice paddies were uncovered, along with 370 m (1,210 ft) of associated narrow canals and waterways.

[citation needed] The site is now preserved as a public archaeological park with reconstructed buildings and rice fields,[10][11] and is protected by the Japanese government as a National Historic Monument.