In the past, a settlement called Shinhamamura was here, and, as its name indicates, it was newly established along with the development of the Higashihama Salt Farm. From Shoho 3 (1646), salt producers from the Himeji and Takasago areas moved into the area, and starting in around Kanbun 10 (1670), people began moving there from neighboring villages in the region. In Kanbun 12 (1672) Shinhamamura was officially established, and in Enpo 8 (1680), it had 119 houses and a population of 1,065.
Because the flat land was used for the salt farm, the settlements were developed on the slopes in the foothills of the mountains facing the ocean and the salt farm. This resulted in complicated networks of winding, narrow, sloped alleys extending from the side facing the ocean, a feature unique to the settlement there.