Although Takayama Jinya was originally one of the suburban residences of Kanamori Nagachika, the lord of Takayama Castle, after Hida came under the Edo Shogunate's direct control, the daikan (local governor) and the gundai (magistrate) from Edo practiced politics here. This government house was called a “Jinya,” and was a place for issuing proclamations of the Edo shogunate or a daimyo, etc. and collecting nengu (annual tribute). Takayama is the only place in Japan where a main building of the gundai’s government house remains.

The rice storehouse of Takayama Jinya (the old government house), which was designated as a National Historic Site, was also relocated and reconstructed with the rice storehouse of Sannomaru of Takayama Castle when the castle was demolished. In the storehouse where the collected nengumai (annual tribute rice) was stored, materials describing the history of the Tenryo Period are displayed.