These hollows are bullauns, a term for the cup-shaped cuttings found on stones associated with early Christian and pre-Christian sites across Ireland. Their precise purpose remains debated; they may have been used for grinding, for collecting water believed to have curative properties, or for ritual functions that were never written down. What makes this particular example slightly unusual is the number of depressions involved. When the stone was described in 1977, two were recorded clearly, the larger one showing obvious signs of deliberate working, with dimensions of roughly 0.3 metres square and varying depths of two to three centimetres. A possible third depression, around 0.28 metres in diameter, was also noted on the surface, making this a candidate for classification as a double, or even triple, bullaun on a single natural boulder measuring approximately 2.4 metres by 1.4 metres.

The stone does not sit in isolation. Some 60 metres to the north lie the remains of an Early Christian monastery, and clustered around that site are a church, a graveyard, a base of a cross just 15 metres to the south-south-east, and a motte and bailey, the last being a form of Norman earthwork castle consisting of a raised mound topped by a timber fortification alongside an enclosed courtyard. The layering here is considerable: a monastic foundation eventually absorbed into the Norman period landscape, with the bullaun stone at the water's edge possibly predating or running parallel to the monastic community itself. Carnakilla Point lies roughly 165 metres to the west across the bay, placing the stone at a spot where the lough and its margins would have been a constant and practical presence in the lives of anyone connected to the monastery.

The stone's location in an area liable to seasonal flooding means it is partially submerged for portions of the year, which affects visibility and access. At lower water levels the depressions become legible on the boulder's surface, though the site demands careful footing given the lakeshore terrain.