In 1173 (Jōan 3), Taira no Kiyomori — then developing Hyogo Harbor (Owada no Tomari) as a base for maritime trade with Song China — invited Ichikishimahime from Itsukushima Shrine in Aki Province to this site, praying for the safety of the construction works and the prosperity of the port.

In 1862-1863 (Bunkyu 2-3), Katsu Kaishu, entrusted by the shogunate with fortifying Japan's coastline, designed and supervised construction of the **Wada-zaki Battery** at the cape. Completed in 1864 (Genji 1), this Martello tower-style fortification — built with granite from the Shiwaku Islands — is the only surviving example of its type in Japan, designated a National Historic Site within the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard. Through his intensive work at Wadamisaki in these critical years of coastal defense — a decade after Perry's Black Ships — Kaishu is said to have visited Wada Shrine, praying at a sanctuary that had guarded this maritime cape since Taira no Kiyomori's day.