It is said that, in the 16th year of the Engi era (916), a priest named Myoko built a hermitage and enshrined Gozu Tenno and eight princes, attaching the name Hachioji Gongen (the characters that make up the word “Hachioji” literally mean “eight princes”). When Hojo Ujiteru built a castle on this land, he enshrined Hachioji Gongen as the guardian deity.
The present shrine buildings near the inner citadel at the summit were built in the late Edo period (1603–1867).