The early history of the castle is shrouded but it might have been constructed by the second of the Minato branch of the Ando family,
Ando Yasusue, in
1436.
Ando "Big Dipper" Chikasue of the Hiyama Ando went down from
Hiyama Castle to Minato Castle uniting the two clan branches. After the
Battle of Sekigahara, his son,
Akita Sanesue was moved to
Shishido, in
Hitachi Province, and
Satake Yoshinobu of Hitachi was relegated to Minato Castle in
1602. Satake began to build the new
Kubota Castle and Minato Castle was abandoned in
1604. == Access ==