Himuro and the position of managing it existed in every period (it belonged to Shusuishi (Water Office) of the Imperial Household Ministry when Japan was governed by the Ritsuryo system (a system of centralized government based on the corresponding code) until it was abolished in the Meiji period.
その後も氷室とそれを管理する職は各時代において存在し（律令制日本の律令制においては宮内省主水司に属した）、明治時代になって消滅した。