The lighthouse was erected in 1939, when, as a result of the Russo-Japanese War lost by Tsarist Russia, the southern part of Sakhalin and the cape ceded to the territory of the Japanese Empire. From 1905 to 1945, the governorate of Karafuto existed here. Through the efforts of its authorities, the famous lighthouse was built.

The first name of the lighthouse is Naka-Siretoko Misaki, which means “at the edge of the earth.” Even the local aborigines, the Ainu, preferred not to venture into these disastrous places, being confident that there was no way to go around the cape in Aniva Bay by sea. Indeed, a lot of ships crashed here from year to year – fogs, strong currents, pitfalls… And finally, a decision was made to build a lighthouse, the author of the project was Miura Shinobu, a college graduate in Kanagawa. Subsequently, his brainchild will be called a miracle of engineering technology, and the master himself – a genius, since no one has ever succeeded in erecting such high-rise towers in such inaccessible, tiny corners of the land.

During Soviet times, the building was used by the military. In 1968, part of the building was strengthened. In 1990, the diesel fuel on which the lighthouse operated was replaced with nuclear fuel, and there was no longer a need for people servicing the lighthouse. Aniva lasted in this autonomous mode until 2006, when isotope installations were removed from its top. So the unique object turned out to be abandoned and destroyed by the elements and people.