According to shrine tradition, in the 55th year of Emperor Nintoku (around 367 CE), Kora Tamatarime-no-Mikoto descended to Mt. Kora, and the shrine was founded at that time. Emperor Nintoku was a Kofun-era emperor known for restoring the financial foundations of the court, and is considered to have been involved in the establishment of imperial ritual sites in Kyushu. As the chief guardian shrine of Chikugo Province since the Nintoku reign, this is one of the oldest shrines in Kyushu.

Arima Tadayori (1603-1655) was the 2nd lord of Kurume domain, who in 1661 (Kanbun 1) commissioned the construction of the extant main hall, offering hall, and worship hall (all National Important Cultural Properties). Construction continued under his son Arima Yoritoshi, and the magnificent shrine complex — the largest in Kyushu — was completed. Through the successive devotion of the Arima lords of Kurume, Kora Taisha established itself in the early modern era as the chief guardian of all Chikugo Province.