Shugosho were built to imitate the gosho (residence) of the Muromachi bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun), and Yama-shiro castles were mostly used as a tsume—no-shiro castle (a kind of castle of last refuge).
守護所は、室町幕府の御所を模して建てられ、また山城を詰城（つめのしろ）としていることが多い。