Ota-juku was the 51st shukuba lodging town on the old Nakasendo Road linking Tokyo (Edo) and Kyoto. The old Nakasendo Road and some remnants of the shukuba still remain.

Ota-juku is adjacent to Kiso River and one of the 17 Nakasendo lodging towns in Gifu Prefecture. This Hiroshige woodblock print of Ota-juku shows the Kiso River crossing to Ota-juku, one of the most difficult segments of the Nakasendo.