Despite mentions in various documents, field surveys have yet to locate any physical remains of this mysterious fortification amongst the rough, mountainous terrain that characterises this part of northwest Ireland. The hill itself presents a challenging landscape of rocky outcrops and steep inclines, making both historical habitation and modern archaeological investigation equally difficult endeavours.

The search for this phantom fort forms part of a broader archaeological puzzle in the region, where numerous defensive structures from Ireland's turbulent past dot the landscape. Not far from Drumacrolly Hill, at Crannogeboy, lies another enigmatic site; an unclassified ringfort that adds to the area's collection of ancient defensive structures. Ringforts, which served as fortified farmsteads throughout much of Irish history, are amongst the most common archaeological monuments in Ireland, with over 45,000 recorded examples scattered across the countryside.

These sites offer tantalising glimpses into how our ancestors organised their communities and defended their territories, though many, like the fort on Drumacrolly Hill, remain frustratingly out of reach. The Archaeological Survey of County Donegal, compiled in 1983 by Brian Lacey and his team, documented these sites as part of a comprehensive cataloguing effort that spans from the Mesolithic period through to the 17th century, preserving knowledge of both the monuments we can still see and those that exist only in memory and written record.