Generally speaking, nokotsudo have often been built as part of welfare in poor communities that haven't previously had temples, and they have often been built in so-called Dowa chiku (areas where people subject to unfair discrimination have lived) as measures to eliminate social prejudice.
一般的な特徴としては、歴史的に寺院を持たなかった貧しい集落に厚生事業として設置される例、いわゆる同和地区に同和対策事業として設置される例などが多く見られる。