Bullaun stones are found across Ireland, their cup-like depressions worn smooth over centuries of use; the water that collects in them was traditionally thought to have curative or spiritually significant properties, and the stones were often incorporated into patterns of devotional walking known as "rounds" at nearby sacred sites.

This stone now sits embedded in a fence on the southern side of the road leading to Temple Feaghna church and graveyard in Garranes, but local tradition holds that it did not begin there. It was once kept within the graveyard itself and formed part of the ritual rounds associated with Tobarfeaghna, the holy well close by. At some point it was moved, ending up in the fence where it remains today, slightly removed from its original sacred context but still within sight of the landscape it belonged to. A second bullaun stone lies roughly thirty-five metres to the north, which suggests this small stretch of Kerry countryside once held a more elaborate devotional geography than its present appearance implies.