They are the branch offices that the bakufu established in the north and south of Rokuhara, Kyoto by reorganizing the existing Kyoto shugo (Kyoto military governor) after the Jokyu War in 1221.
承久3年（1221年）の承久の乱ののち、幕府がそれまでの京都守護を改組し京都六波羅の北と南に設置した出先機関。