Compared with hirajiro (flatland castles) and hirayamajiro (low mountain castles), yamajiro (mountain castles) tended to be smaller and some of them did not develop into cities and have been preserved as whole ruins of large castles, including the Gassantoda Castle, a mountain castle in the Sengoku (civil war) period, and Takeda Castle (Hyogo Prefecture), Takatori Castle and Oka Castle (Oita Prefecture) in the early modern period.
平城・平山城にくらべ、山城の絶対的な規模は小さい傾向があるが、一方で都市化を免れ、戦国山城の月山富田城や近世山城の竹田城（兵庫県）や高取城、岡城（大分県）などの広大な城域全体の遺構が保存されるケースもある。