Ringforts, roughly circular enclosures defined by an earthen bank and a fosse (an external ditch), were a widespread form of early medieval settlement in Ireland, typically serving as defended farmsteads. This one is sub-circular in shape, measuring approximately 34 metres across on its east-northeast to west-southwest axis, and its external fosse is described as narrow, shallow, and steep-sided, suggesting a boundary as much symbolic as defensive. What makes the site particularly legible is what has been lost: quarrying has eaten into the southern and eastern portions, exposing the structure in cross-section and making visible what would otherwise remain buried beneath turf and time.

The interior of the enclosure rises gently towards its centre, where a large sub-rectangular house site is still visible on the ground surface. This kind of raised interior feature is consistent with early medieval domestic occupation, where the main dwelling would have been positioned on the highest point within the enclosed space. A field fence, which now forms part of the monument's perimeter along the northwest to north-northeast arc, also functions as the townland boundary between Parsonstown and Martinstown, meaning the ancient earthwork has been quietly pressed into administrative service for modern landholding. Roughly 60 metres to the southwest lies a second ringfort, suggesting this elevated ground was considered worth occupying more than once, or that the two enclosures functioned together as part of a small cluster of settlement activity.