Shuri Castle was built on a plateau about 120 meters above sea level. It is the largest of Okinawa's castles. The castle compound has an elliptical shape and is some 350 meters east-west and 200 meters north-south. When, and by whom, the castle was first built here is still uncertain, but excavation work indicates that a precursor of Shuri Castle was in existence by the second half of the 14th century.

From the 13th to the 14th centuries, a number of local lords or chieftains called "Aji" arose to exercise control over portions of Okinawa. This was a tumultuous period and Aji rose and fell. Not one of them was able to wield enough power to unify the warring satrapies, and Shuri Castle was just one among a considerable number of castles.

So when did Shuri Castle enter history as the seat of a preeminent king? When did it become, as it is today, the symbol of Okinawa? Concerning this there are two explanations: the "Satto" theory and the "Sho Hashi" theory. One hypothesis holds that Satto, king of Chuzan at the time of the three kingdoms, built Shuri Castle as his palace. According to the other theory, Urasoe Castle was the base of Chuzan through the reigns of Satto and his son and successor, Bunei. Then Sho Hashi, the founder of the first Sho dynasty, established himself at Shuri Castle. Which account is correct is not yet clear.

The Satto hypothesis argues that King Satto built up Shuri Castle in 1392, toward the end of his life. In that year the erection of a high tower, called "Takayo Uriden," in the Madan Woods south of the castle's lower courtyard as a place to relax and enjoy the view is recorded in the "Records of the Origin of Ryukyu" and "The Ancient Annals of Ryukyu."