It is said that the first Hie Shrine here was built in 848. The current shrine building dates from 1644 and enshrines the Shinto deity Oyamakui no Mikoto, the kami of mountains and good health. The first shrine here was built by Ennin (ca. 794–864), the third abbot of the Japanese Tendai sect of Buddhism, which was introduced to Japan from China in the ninth century. Rinnoji Temple at Nikko is a Tendai Buddhist temple. The kami Oyamakui no Mikoto enshrined here was brought from the Hie Shrine at Hieizan Enryakuji, near Kyoto, the head temple of Japanese Tendai Buddhism. This shrine is a reminder of the fusion of Buddhism and Shinto that existed before the Meiji period (1868–1912). This fusion was pioneered by Tendai Buddhism.