Nanbu clan
The Nanbu clan controlled this region of northern Japan from the Muromachi period, and Shichinohe Castle was occupied by a branch of the clan on this site until the end of the Sengoku period. However, in 1591 the Shichinohe-branch of the Nanbu clan opposed the forces of clan chieftain Nanbu Nobunao and Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the Kunohe Rebellion and were defeated. The castle was abandoned in 1592 and allowed to fall into ruins. The Shichinohe Nanbu clan was allowed to survive as 2300 "koku" "hatamoto" serving Morioka Domain under the Tokugawa shogunate. Their revenues were increased to 5000 "koku" in 1694, and they were given charge of a "daikansho" erected on the site of their old castle in 1804. With a raise in revenues to 11,000 "koku" in 1819, Shichinohe Domain was created.