The monument survives not as an obvious earthwork but as a series of subtle clues pressed into the ground: a slightly raised and scarped edge, a faint hollow where a ditch once ran, and an interior that has long since been levelled and folded into the surrounding field. It is precisely the kind of site that rewards a certain kind of attention.

Ringforts, also known as raths, were the predominant settlement type in early medieval Ireland, typically consisting of a circular or sub-circular enclosure defined by an earthen bank and external ditch, used as a farmstead and dwelling. The Caherelly East example measures roughly 21 metres from north-north-west to south-south-east and 17 metres from east-north-east to west-south-west, making it a relatively modest example. The remains of its defining scarped edge, now partially levelled, stand no more than 0.45 metres high and extend roughly 4.2 metres in width. Traces of an external fosse, the ditch that would have reinforced the enclosure's boundary, are still readable along the south-east to west-north-west arc, with a total width of approximately 9.5 metres, though its depth has been reduced to around 0.2 metres. The eastern arc of the earthwork has been further cut into by a field drain and a modern field boundary, removing part of the original circuit. The record was compiled by Denis Power and uploaded in November 2013.

The site sits in level pasture, which is both what preserved it and what has continued to erode it. Because the interior is now integrated into the surrounding field, there is no dramatic rise or clearly defined platform to orient a visitor; the reading of it depends on walking the perimeter carefully and tracking the slight changes in ground level. The surviving scarped edge and fosse traces are most legible along the southern and western sides, where agricultural disturbance has been less pronounced. As with many low-lying earthwork sites in Ireland, the monument is most easily read in low winter light, when raking sunlight picks out shallow relief that disappears entirely in summer when the grass is full and even.