It is not especially dramatic from a distance, which is partly what makes it interesting. This is a rath, the Irish term for a ringfort, the type of enclosed settlement that was built in enormous numbers across Ireland during the early medieval period, roughly between the fifth and twelfth centuries. Tens of thousands once existed across the island, constructed from earth and timber rather than stone, which means many have been quietly erased by centuries of ploughing, drainage works, and field reorganisation. The one at Ballingowan has survived, though not without alteration.

The site was recorded and compiled by Denis Power, with aerial photographs taken in March 2006 and the record uploaded in August 2011. The enclosure measures approximately 31 metres north to south and nearly 34 metres east to west, making it a modest but reasonably complete example. It is defined by an earthen bank, which survives to an external height of around 0.95 metres along much of its circuit, with a scarped edge, essentially a deliberately cut or shaped slope in the ground, running along the north-north-east to east-south-east section. Outside the main bank runs a fosse, a defensive ditch, roughly 65 centimetres deep and 2.2 metres wide, which encircles the whole enclosure. Beyond that, on the south-south-west to north-west arc, there is a counterscarp bank, a low secondary bank on the outer edge of the ditch, adding a further layer of definition to what was once a carefully engineered boundary. There are five gaps in the banks, some matching across both inner and outer earthworks, at the south-south-west and west, which likely represent original or later entrance points. A field boundary that once ran along the south-west has since been removed, and a farm trackway now runs north to south about six metres east of the enclosure.

The rath sits within working farmland, and like most such sites in Ireland it is on private land, so access would require the landowner's permission. The interior, still under pasture, slopes gently down towards the north-east. On the ground, the earthworks are subtle, and a visitor unfamiliar with what to look for might simply see a slight rise and dip in the field surface. It is worth walking the full perimeter to appreciate the relationship between bank, ditch, and counterscarp, and to notice how the gaps in the banks align. Aerial photographs, such as those taken for the Archaeological Survey of Ireland in 2006, often reveal the geometry far more clearly than the view from the field itself.