What survives is a D-shaped arc of earthen bank, roughly a metre high, with an external fosse, or defensive ditch, about 1.75 metres deep, projecting only 12 metres from the eroding coastal edge. The straight side of the D is not an original feature of the design; it is simply where the sea has already taken the rest.

Ringforts, known in Irish as raths when built from earth and bank rather than stone, are among the most common early medieval monument types in Ireland, typically dating from roughly the fifth to the twelfth centuries. They served as enclosed farmsteads, the surrounding bank and fosse providing security for a household and its animals. This one, set in pasture overlooking Bantry Bay to the north, was in all likelihood originally circular, following the standard form. The surviving arc measures some 23 metres on its northeast to southwest axis, enough to give a clear sense of its original scale, though the coastline continues to chip away at it. Coastal erosion of this kind is not unusual along the west Cork shore, where softer glacial and alluvial deposits meet persistent Atlantic weather, and monuments that once sat safely inland have gradually found themselves at the water's edge.