It is a rath, the Irish term for a ringfort, the most common monument type surviving in the Irish countryside. These were typically the enclosed farmsteads of early medieval Ireland, dating broadly from the fifth to the twelfth centuries, defined by one or more circular earthen banks and ditches enclosing a living and working space. Tens of thousands once existed across the island; several thousand survive in some form. The one at Inchincummer is among those that have slipped quietly through the record without accumulating much in the way of documented detail.

Raths are so numerous in Ireland that it is easy to underestimate how much individual variation they contain. Some enclosed simple family farms, others the seats of local lords, and a small number were elaborated with souterrains, the stone-lined underground passages thought to have served as cool storage or places of refuge. Kerry, with its complex early medieval history and its density of ancient settlement, holds a significant share of surviving examples. The townland name Inchincummer is itself of interest, likely derived from Irish, though without further documentation it would be speculation to unpack its meaning with any confidence. What can be said is that the presence of a ringfort in a townland is generally a reliable indicator of continuous agricultural use of that ground going back at least to the early medieval period, and often considerably further.