[1] Ueda Castle is located on a hill overlooking a branch of the Chikuma River at the northeast edge of the Nagano plain, which forms part of its southern defences and acts as a moat.

The Central Bailey (Hon-Maru) [1] originally had seven two-story yagura, but no tenshu and was protected by a moat as well as stone ramparts.

Sanada Nobuyuki was made daimyō of Ueda Domain, and returned to build a residence in the former San-no-maru area.

The Sengoku were in turn replaced by a branch of the Matsudaira clan in 1706, who remained in control of the castle until the end of the Edo period.

The site was made into a public park, with two Shinto shrines (one dedicated to the Sanada clan, and the other to the war dead), and a local history museum.