In the Edo period, it was called Gagugongen. The origin of the name is said to be that Ieyasu Tokugawa rested his horse here when he toured the country and enshrined the "gag" that was left behind, or that he enshrined a horseshoe. The shrine is said to have been a guardian deity for children, and especially for whooping cough, and was crowded with believers who came from far and wide to worship.