The geography of the gorge and surrounding area were formed by the eruption of Daisetsuzan Volcanic Group, which was occurred around 30,000 years ago. The welded tuff was piled up after the eruption, and it was gradually eroded by the water of the Ishikari River, which currently streams between gorges. Thus, ragged steep cliffs in S?unky? were shaped, which range over 24 kilometres. and have a number of joints around 200 metres in height
In 1957, stores and hotels located in the areas surrounding S?unky? were relocated to S?unky? under the order of the Kamikawa government. They became the origin of the S?unky? Onsen (hot springs) Resort. This was a part of the plan to arrange Kamikawa town by the government, and the resort has thrived with many hotels and souvenir shops, formerly constructed for mountaineers, although later they have decayed due to the other resorts in Hokkaid? such as Shiretoko.
To renovate its run-down resorts, S?unky? and Ministry of the Environment collaborated on a reconstruction scheme in 1987. 36 buildings that were in the area were demolished and integrated into 18 hotels, which were designed with ivory coloured walls and sharp roofs representing Daisetsuzan. Most of the onsen resorts were completed in July 1998, and many tourists have visited. Currently, the annual number of tourists is 3 million. Recently, the center of the onsen resorts were arranged as the "Canyon Mall," which was modeled after the mountain resorts in Canada
