At its outset, the battle was to have Shibata's troops, led by Sakuma Morimasa, establish its presence in the area by taking several of Hideyoshi's forts in the area. Put shortly, Sakuma had initial successes, but was surprised when Hideyoshi arrived unexpectedly early at the scene, and was quickly routed.

At first glance, Shizugatake itself is quite a diminutive mountain. Why would Hideyoshi have decided to erect forts here? A quick glance at the terrain of the battlefield exposes the strength in the positioning of the forts. The forts were situated on a small chain of mountains surrounding Lake Yogo. They certainly were important for Shibata's troops to capture, because they would give the advantage of height and cover as Hideyoshi would presumably approach from the south. There was, however, plenty of room for Hideyoshi and his troops to maneuver about in the area to the south.

This is in contrast to the difficult positioning Sakuma was put in once his and Maeda Toshiie's troops started to panic following the arrival of Hideyoshi on Shizugatake. The former's troops were hemmed in between Shizugatake and Lake Yogo with little space to maneuver. Additionally, with the use of the forts on the eastern flank of Lake Yogo, the narrow river valley to the east could also have been covered. In other words, the location of the forts were more advantageous for someone wishing to defend attacks from the north (which is what Hideyoshi wanted to do) than the south!

Sakuma's impetuosity, Hideyoshi's quick arrival, and the overall terrain helped to secure Hideyoshi's victory, and the downfall of Shibata Katsuie.