The townland takes its name from the dissolved Cistercian monastery of Jerpoint, founded in the twelfth century, and the presence of a mill here is entirely in keeping with that monastic inheritance. Cistercian communities were among the most industrious mill-builders in medieval Ireland, relying on water-powered grinding to support large, largely self-sufficient estates. A mill attached to or associated with such a foundation would have been an economic cornerstone, processing grain grown on the monastery's granges and supplying flour to the community and likely to tenants beyond it.

Jerpointchurch itself is a small, somewhat ghost-like settlement. The medieval parish church that gives the townland its name stands roofless beside an atmospheric graveyard, and the whole area retains a character that feels removed from the more visited parts of the Jerpoint estate. Mills of this period were typically built at natural weirs or mill races, structures that diverted river water onto a wheel, and the Little Arrigle would have provided a reliable head of water for such a purpose. Without more detailed survey material it is difficult to say what survives above ground, but the monument's recorded status confirms that something of archaeological significance remains to be read in the landscape here.