Iwamura Castle Ruins

Iwamura Castle Ruins are one of Japan’s three great mountain castles, alongside Takatori Castle and Matsuyama Castle, and are selected among Japan’s Top 100 Castles. The castle is a formidable mountain fortress that skillfully uses a ridge-like landform with a 180 m elevation difference. A sacred spring called “Kirigai,” once reserved for the castle lord, is associated with a legend: when enemies attacked, if the castle’s hidden snake bones were thrown into the well, fog would rise and protect the castle—hence the alternate name “Kiriga-jo” (Fog Castle). The site is also known as the “Village of the Female Castle Lord,” because Otsuya—an aunt of Oda Nobunaga—governed well and protected the people to the end. The impressive stonework that remains, including the six-tiered walls and the sturdy high stone walls on the west side of the main enclosure, conveys the atmosphere of the past and lets visitors witness the crystallization of ingenuity. It is said there were once 17 wells within the castle; even today, water still springs from more than ten wells. By scanning QR codes placed around the site, you can view reconstructed CG imagery of buildings, making it possible to feel the history while walking through this “impregnable” mountain castle.