 During the Edo period, Ōmuta was a part of the Miike han (Miike Domain), ruled by the Tachibana clan who also ruled Yanagawa.In 1721, Ono Harunobu, karō (steward) of Yanagawa han (Yanagawa Domain) was granted Hirano Takatori yama, and started to mine coal.During the 1850s another two coal mines were opened.