Yuigahama originally referred to the coastline spanning 3.2 kilometers from Ryozengasaki (Inamuragasaki) to Iijima in Zaimokuza. Nowadays, the area west of the Inase River is called Sakanoshita Beach, the area between the Inase and Nameri rivers is called Yuigahama Beach, and the area east of the Nameri River is called Zaimokuza Beach.

The name is said to derive either from being located in the area once known as Yuigo or from the name of an organization akin to a mutual aid association called Yui. Various characters were used to write “Yui”; along with the modern iteration of “由比,” the combinations “由井” and “湯井” were also prevalent. During the Kamakura period (1185–1333), another name for the beach was Maehama (“beachfront”). Many houses were built on the beach, which was also used as training grounds for kokasagake and yabusame, both types of horseback archery, inuomono, a type of mounted archery where riders shot at dogs, and other martial arts.

Shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199) was believed to have always purified himself with the waters at Yuigahama whenever he set out on nishomode, a pilgrimage to the three shrines of Sotosan Shrine (Izusan Shrine), Hakone Shrine, and Mishima Taisha Shrine. The beach was also the site of a sacred religious ceremony held in 1193, which involved Yoritomo releasing cranes as an offering of birds and beasts during the Hojoe Ceremony, the most important event held by Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. On the other hand, it was also the stage of historical battles, such as in 1180, when the armies of warlords Miura Yoshizumi (1127–1200) and Hatakeyama Shigetada (1164–1205) faced one another; in 1213, when a battle took the lives of samurai Wada Yoshimori (1147–1213) and his family, with their severed heads used to identify their bodies here on the beach; and in 1333, when an attack was launched on Kamakura by samurai lord Nitta Yoshisada (1301–1338).

Following the opening of the Yokosuka Line in 1889, the area grew in popularity for its health resorts, luxury holiday homes, sightseeing spots, and beaches. Bustling with swimmers in summer, Yuigahama was eventually coined “Ginza of the Sea” after the wealthy area of Tokyo and would later develop as a resort area. Even today, Yuigahama welcomes crowds of beachgoers in the summer months.