The ancient provincial capital (
Hitachi Kokufu) and temple (
Hitachi Kokubun-ji) were located near modern
Ishioka and have been excavated, while the chief shrine was further east at
Kashima (
Kashima Shrine). The province was established in the 7th century. In the
Sengoku period the area was divided among several
daimyōs, but the chief castle was usually in the
Mito Castle of the modern city of
Mito. In
Edo period, one of the clans originating from
Tokugawa Ieyasu, settled in the
Mito Domain, known as
Mito Tokugawa family or Mito Clan. Mito Domain, was a Japanese domain of the Edo period it was associated with Hitachi Province. In
Meiji era the political maps of the provinces of Japan were reformed in the 1870s, and the provinces became prefectures, and also some provinces were modified or merged, when creating the prefectures. ==Historical districts==