In 1321, the then head of the head family of the Hojo clan Takatoki HOJO who was a former regent of the Kamakura bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) constructed Sujuji Temple in Bengayatsu in Kamakura, which is now ruined, and given a title 'Shozan' as the rank next to 'Gozan' to the temple, which was the oldest example of 'Shozan.'
元亨元年（1321年）に鎌倉幕府の元執権で北条氏得宗家当主であった北条高時が自らが鎌倉弁谷に建立した崇寿寺（現在は廃寺）を五山に次ぐ寺として「諸山」の称号を与えたのが最古と言われている。