The crescent opens to the north-east, and a slight mound survives along the northern edge, the whole spread measuring roughly 20 metres north to south and just under 16 metres east to west, with the surviving material only a few centimetres to about 30 centimetres thick. Ploughing has clearly disturbed the deposit, flattening what would once have been a more pronounced heap.

Fulachtaí fia, the plural form, are low mounds of fire-cracked stone, typically found near water sources and dating mostly to the Bronze Age, though some examples fall outside that range. The leading interpretation is that they represent ancient cooking sites, where water held in a trough was heated by dropping stones that had been fired in a nearby hearth, creating a form of boiling without direct flame. When a stone cracked from the thermal shock it was discarded, and over repeated use those rejected fragments accumulated into the characteristic mound. Some researchers have proposed alternative uses, including textile preparation or bathing, and the debate has not been fully settled. The site at Moneygurney was reported by Alan Hawkes of University College Cork, whose field observations captured the crescent form and dimensions before further agricultural activity could alter the deposit further.