Takayama Castle was first built by Kanamori Nagachika, who moved from neighboring Echizen Province following orders from Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Begun in 1588, the castle was meant to serve as a base for defeating Mitsugi Yoritsuna, a daimyō allied against Hideyoshi. Completed in 1603, Takayama-jō was comprised of three separate keeps overlooking the merchant and craftsman town of Takayama from the top of a mountain. Following its transfer to the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1695, the castle was dismantled, and today only the ruins of its walls survive.