It is hirayamajiro (castles built on a hill or low mountain surrounded by a plain) and was built on Mt. Hikone in present Konki-cho, Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture in the Edo Period, which is early modern time in Japan, as the castle for foothold of Ii clan that served as a defense in Chinzei (nickname of Kyushu).
近世にあたる江戸時代に滋賀県彦根市金亀町にある彦根山に、鎮西を担う井伊氏の拠点として置かれた平山城である。