 Nanzan first came into being in 1314 when Tamagusuku inherited the role of head chieftain of all of Okinawa from his father Eiji; he did not have the charisma or leadership qualities to command the loyalty of all the local lords, and so the Lord of Ōzato, one of many powerful local chieftains, fled south from his home in Urasoe, with a number of lesser chieftains loyal to him, and established himself in Ōzato gusuku near the town of Itoman.Another powerful chieftain fled north and established the kingdom of Hokuzan, leaving Tamagusuku in control only of the central part of the island, which thus became the kingdom of Chūzan.Nanzan, like the two kingdoms with which it shared the tiny island of Okinawa, consisted of a minuscule territory, and correspondingly limited resources.