Most ringforts, the enclosed farmsteads that once dotted early medieval Ireland in their tens of thousands, have a single bank and ditch. This one has three, making it what archaeologists call a multivallate rath, a form generally associated with higher-status occupants who had both the resources and the need for more elaborate defences.

Known locally as Lismore, or Lios Mór, meaning the great enclosure, the site measures roughly 105 metres north to south and just over 106 metres east to west, placing it firmly at the larger end of the ringfort spectrum. According to the North Kerry Archaeological Survey, compiled by C. Toal and published in 1995, the arrangement of its defences is not uniform around the circuit. The northern, western, and southern approaches are heavily fortified, suggesting these were the sides considered most vulnerable or most likely to face pressure. The arc running from the north-east through east to south tells a different story: here, the space between the inner and outer rings was possibly used for workshops and domestic structures, a kind of sheltered working area tucked inside the outer defences but separate from whatever stood at the centre. The fort commands wide views of the surrounding countryside, which would have made it both a practical watchtower and a visible statement of authority in the early Irish landscape.