Hiyama Castle is located approximately five kilometers southeast from the center of Noshiro city, on the summit of the 150 meter Mount Kiriyama, in the northern part of former
Dewa Province. The location is at the mouth of the
Yoneshiro River. The precise date of the construction of Hiyama Castle is not known, but it was completed during the life of Andō Tadasue (d.1511), the chieftain of the Hiyama
Andō clan. The Andō were possibly descendants of the indigenous
Emishi people who populated the Tōhoku region prior to the arrival of the
Yamato Japanese in the late
Nara period. The Andō were a maritime clan who controlled the northern
Sea of Japan coastline of Japan, including southern
Ezo (Hokkaido), and who engaged in trade and fishing. Under the
Kamakura shogunate and into the
Nanbokuchō period, the clan enjoyed virtual autonomy in their domains, trading with mainland Asia through
Tosaminato port in what is now
Aomori Prefecture and from the 14th century at
Tsuchizaki Port in what is now the city of
Akita. However, in the 15th century, the Andō came under attack by the
Nanbu clan based at
Sannohe Castle and was forced to retreat from Tosaminoto Port to Hokkaido. Despite numerous counterattacks, the Andō were unable to recover Tosaminato, but a branch of the clan called the "Minato Andō" held out at
Tsuchizaki. In the middle of the 15th century, the Minato Andō asked the main branch of the clan to relocate from Hokkaido to Dewa Province, and under
Andō Masasue (d.1488), they began Hiyama Castle near
Noshiro, becoming the "Hiyama Andō". The two branches of the clan co-existed for a century. The two branches of the clan united under
Andō Chikasue (1539-1587). Andō Chikasue rebuilt a pre-existing fortification at
Wakimoto from 1577, and used this as his seat, changing his surname to "Akita". However, after his death, the former retainers of the Minato Andō rebelled with the assistance of the Nanbu clan and seized Hiyama Castle. Chikasue's son,
Akita Sanesue suppressed the rebellion over a period of six months. After many vicissitudes, the
Akita clan continued to the end of the
Tokugawa shogunate as
daimyō of
Miharu Domain in what is now
Fukushima Prefecture. In his place, the shogunate transferred the
Satake clan from
Hitachi Province. The Satake built
Kubota Castle as their seat, and Hiyama Castle was abolished in 1620. ==Structure==