Shinano River
Yawata-shuku is located on the west bank of the Shinano River, just across from Shionada-shuku, the preceding post town. Though these two post towns are located not much more than 500 meters away, Yawata-shuku was able to develop during the Keichō era in the early Edo period. It was a comparatively small post town, but its prosperity came from it serving as a rest area at times when the Shinano River could not be crossed and as a distribution center for rice.