Wakae Castle has been through many wars since it was built by the Hatakeyama clan, the guardian of Kawachi Province, in the early Muromachi period. During the Tensho era, Christian Ikeda Tango no Kami Norimasa became the castle's lord and built a church, so it is said to have been the center of Kawachi Christianity along with Yao, Sanka (now Daito City), and Okayama (now Shijonawate City). However, no records of its use as a base for Nobunaga's attack on Ishiyama Honganji Temple have been found, and it has long been a "phantom castle." However, excavations conducted after 1972 have found part of a moat around the center of the castle, confirming its existence once again. Its size is said to be about 380m east to west and 280m north to south (Kadokawa Japanese Place Name Dictionary). Currently, a monument to the castle ruins stands at the foot of the footbridge in front of Wakae Community Center, but there are still many mysteries surrounding the castle.